Chained Chance
by bloodybrain33
Summary: Kagami feels something more than just friendship for his rival. When his father gives him two tickets to a summer training camp in the USA and tells him to bring a friend, he knows what to do. Will he take this chance to bring it to the next level? Our players will have to watch out: other rivals are coming [AND FEELS TOO]. Prepare to face the struggle of jealousy. AOKAGA BL
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! It's BB33 and this is my very first fanfic! **

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language, thus I'm sorry for any mistakes you'll find in the text. **

**:3 I hope you enjoy your reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket nor any of its characters. Also, this is a non-profit fiction, written for the solely purpose of entertaining. **

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

TIME: 15:00 DAY: 7/16/20XX

It was a bright summer day of July. The sun was heating up the streets around the city and a warm wind was blowing through the windows of Kagami's apartment. There, the red-haired teen was having a hard time dealing with the hot weather, sitting at the kitchen's table with his face in front of a small fan, the only thing he found in his house to help him cope with the summer. While trying to find some kind of relief, he stared at his shadow's face, that was now full of sweat. Kuroko was drinking his vanilla shake from Maji's, but it was obvious that even the icy beverage couldn't help him with the hot weather.

"Kagami-kun, why didn't you think of buying an air conditioner? I don't think I can go on like this..." The blue-haired guy was sweating a lot, and he felt so weak he could barely talk.

Kagami didn't even look at him, too busy with the fresh flow directed to his face to care.

"...It's too much of a hassle- he said in a bored tone -you need people to assemble and set it, and it requires maintenance, a lot of it... plus, come on! Summer has never been this hot in Japan! It's not like I ever needed one!" He scowled, then he increased the speed of the spinning fan blades. "...Ah...fuck.." Kagami felt like he was going to die right there, slowly melting while his blood would evaporate. He rested his head on the table, trying to rest a bit.

Summer heat sure made him tired.

"Kagami-kun"

"What now?!"

"...you know that's bad for your health, don't you?"

"Uh, excuse me?"

"The cold air blowing straight to your face...it's not...good for you" Kuroko was striving to speak, sipping his now warm vanilla shake through his words.

"What...the hell, Kuroko..?! … I'm too hot to care about that now!"

Maybe it hadn't been that much of a great idea to invite Kuroko over on such a hot day. Kagami had asked him to come to play games and talk about their new training sessions that would start on September: Riko said that practice was going to be twice as hard as it already was, and the two of them should start improving their synchronization and other stuff he didn't quite get (or listened to), but he did understand that she suggested that they spent more time together in order to deepen their friendship, which didn't sound bad at all...except for the damn hot weather.

Kagami was now in a daze, looking at the spinning blades with his sweaty face still rested on the kitchen table. Beyond them he could see his shadow's face and his absent stare. That was going to be a hard day.

"Yo, Kuroko... are you still there?" The shorter boy took his time to answer, then he nodded lightly.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look a bit red" The blue-haired boy now looked really dizzy, so Kagami managed to stand up and he laid his hand on Kuroko's forehead. "DAMN! Kuroko you're burning up! Wait here, I'm getting you some ice!"

Kagami opened the freezer and grabbed an icepack.

"Here you go, pass it on your wrists, on your neck and on your forehead, and go lay on the couch...damn it! What the hell is with today?!"

He helped Kuroko with the ice and made him get up, then gently laid him on the couch in the living room.

"Thanks, Kagami-kun" The boy fell asleep almost immediately.

"Seriously, what a day..."

Tired from the effort and the overwhelming heat, Kagami sat on the small spot that was free on the couch, and he drifted to a deep sleep.

* * *

.

.

.

He woke up later in the evening, when his cellphone started ringing.

***RINGRINGRINGRING* **(a/n: I'm sorry I don't know how to write a ringtone sound... ^^")

"... … … ..."

***RINGRINGRINGRINGRING***

"...Mhh.."

***RINGRINGRINGRINGRING***

"..Uhm...what...?"

***RINGRINGRINGRINGRING***

"OKAY, OKAY I GOT IT I'M COMING! ..jeez..." He looked at the screen and froze instantly: the call was from his father. He picked up.

"Hello"

"Hi Taiga, how are you doing?"

His relationship with his father was going great. They always made sure to keep in touch at least once a week, and Taiga always told him about his friends, school, the basketball matches and the exhausting practices he had to go through, while the man, that was a famous American company's CEO, talked about his latest achievement in the business field. Taiga's mother, instead, seldom called him, since she was even busier with her job as the sales manager of another great company in the USA. Even so, Taiga wasn't bothered nor offended by it, instead, he understood the position of his parents and made sure not to act selfishly or as a spoiled brat. He knew that they both loved him, and their phone calls were always lively.

Nevertheless, answering his father's ones always made him nervous.

"Hey dad! I'm doing fine now, but today it's been a hard day...it's been super hot since this morning, and Kuroko almost passed out due to the heat. Now it's still hot but it has cooled up a bit. Anyway, these days have been great, practice is as hard as ever, but it's always good to meet up with the team." He smiled and though about how lucky he was, having such friendly and strong teammates.

"What about you? How is work going?" he inquired curiously.

"Actually, it's been going quite smoothly lately, I'm even surprised myself. By the way, this time I called you because I want to tell you something important."

Kagami gulped...what could it be?

"Since your birthday is coming in few days and it's been a while since we last saw you, your mother and I thought about giving you a special present. Do you happen to know the NBA Special Summer Camp? The one that is held every year here in Chicago?"

Kagami widened his eyes.

"Do you mean the one where young players from all over the world go practice for three weeks? OF COURSE I KNOW IT! I've even heard that on the last day of the session some of the actual NBA players would show up!" Kagami had always had one thing in mind: basketball, so he kept himself updated with the latest news from the basketball world, especially NBA ones.

"Well, we were thinking...actually, no: we _decided_ to make you attend that camp as your birthday present, if you want to, of course. And the special news is that we also chose that you can bring a friend with you: we'll give both of you return tickets for the plane, and, of course, the best accommodation at the camp. What do you think?"

Kagami-san could almost feel his son screaming inside, showing that bright smile of his, and, in fact, Taiga suddenly got up from the couch, just as he had been thunderstruck.

He couldn't believe it.

Not only was he going back to the USA (which was great once in a while, because he got to see his parents) but he was going to the NBA camp!

WHAT.

THE.

HELL.

"Dad, it's...it's THE BEST (FUCKING) THING EVER! How did you come up with the idea...I mean...how did you even know..?"

His father giggled on the phone

"Ahahah my dear son, we have our _ways_ to know what you wish for. I'm just happy you are satisfied with your present. Anyway your flight is on Friday the 20th , at 11:10 a.m., so you'll arrive at Chicago at 8:55 in the morning, local time. We'll drop your luggage at home and then we'll go visiting the city and we'll spend the rest of the day together. We'll make sure you will rest properly at night and recover from the jet lag. You'll arrive to the camp on Saturday, Kaito will take you there. The three-weeks period goes from the 21st of July to the 12th of August, although it's a shame not to have you with us on your birthday. You'll leave in the late evening...oi Taiga?"

He chuckled

"Ahahaha don' tell me you were so dumbfounded you didn't get a word of what I said?"

Taiga was just shocked from all the details his father gave him.

He had everything planned. Taiga could almost feel it becoming real.

"Ah, no, I think I got that... Thanks dad, really, and thank mom too." He smiled "I'm really grateful for this opportunity...really."

Kagami-san chuckled again, happy that Taiga enjoyed what he said. He really looked like he was still a kid sometimes.

"Ahahahah! No need to thank us, son! We're glad you liked your present. Anyway, we'll send Kaito to check on you in few days: we want you to wisely choose the one who will accompany you, after all your mother and I have an image to keep, and we don't want anything unpleasant to happen at the camp. That being said, I have to hang up. See you soon!" And he hung up.

Taiga was still smiling at his phone like an idiot. "Wow, that was...something" it was like the heat of that summer day never affected him.

"Are you going to ask Aomine-kun?" Kuroko's voice suddenly brought him to reality again.

"Oh Kuroko, you're awake." He was glad to see his friend was better "How do you feel?"

The pale guy answered in a soft voice "A bit better, thanks, Kagami-kun. Anyway, are you going to ask him?"

Okay, now Kagami was confused.

"Ask him? Who? What? What are you talking about?"

"About the trip for your birthday, are you-"

"Wait how do you even know about that?!"

The shorter boy sighed, "Kagami-kun, you were screaming on your phone, and your father was talking very loudly as well. I just heard it all. Anyway, I was referring to Aomine-kun"

"Don't you eavesdrop on my phone calls, Kuroko...wait... WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Just as he heard his rival's name he started panicking inside.

Lately something was changing about their relationship.

After the Winter Cup the tanned idiot had called him to play one-on-one together, and they slowly started getting along, spending more time together on the public courts, and it wasn't unlikely that sometimes Aomine would invite himself over for dinner or to play games with the red-haired rival.

Even so, lately, something had drastically changed in the way that Kagami looked at the idiot. Taiga knew he was gay, after all he'd never shown interest in girls. He had grown conscious of it when he had started to feel an "overly-friendly" attraction to his "brother" Himuro. It wasn't something _much_ _more_ than friendship, but it made sense to him. Nevertheless he didn't think of the black-haired friend as a possible partner, it didn't feel right, plus their friendship was too deep to think of the other as "something more than a friend": "brother" was the right term for it.

Anyway, there was something wrong with the way he felt about Aomine. The idiot would constantly bother him, invite himself over, steal his burgers when they would eat at Maji's, and, of course, he was an ass. But there was something in the way they played together, when they looked in each other's eyes, when it was just the two of them, that made Kagami feel like a complete retard. It was a new feeling to him, like Aomine's gaze could see through him, with his low voice echoing from Kagami's ears to his chest, that signature smirk of his that made him feel like jelly. And he hated it. The idiot made him feel...so _vulnerable. _But he couldn't stop staring at him, at his perfect body, his hot skin, his sculpted arms, his deep blue eyes.

Oh gosh _those_ eyes.

Sometimes Kagami would freeze on the spot while looking at them, sometimes he would just stare in a daze, lost in that unknown universe. When the two of them were together he felt like there wasn't any need for words. They were perfectly synchronized, like they shared the same brain, and Kagami was sure he wasn't the only one that felt sparks whenever they played a one-on-one.

There was a perfect combination of wildness, electricity, passion, challenge and lately even a mutual understanding that he couldn't just ignore. He knew what he felt for the blue-haired idiot, and he was even scared it could go _far_ beyond a simple "liking". He, in fact, liked everything about the other, even his rude behavior, and recently Aomine was starting to act differently near him, more...considerately, maybe? He didn't know, but one thing he did know was that he couldn't call it just friendship anymore. On his behalf, at least. Even so, he wasn't sure he wanted to become something more than that. Their relationship now was enough to him...maybe.

Anyway, what worried him now was the fact that Kuroko seemed to have understood something. Damn, Kuroko!

"I asked you if you want him to go with you to the USA, Kagami-kun. I know the two of you have been getting along pretty well lately, plus coach Riko said I can't skip practice with the team for a while, since it might happen that I lose my misdirection ability again after our success at the Winter Cup. So it's pretty obvious that you're going to ask _him_."

"It's true that we kinda get along now, but... I still have to think about it"

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea at all. He might just invite the idiot. Three weeks together with him would be awesome. Plus, it would leave Aomine in a state of shock for a minute or two, after which he would try to keep his happiness from showing with no avail. And that would be _so_ satisfactory.

"Actually, you know what? I guess I'll do just that. Do you mind if I call him now?"

"Sure, go ahead Kagami-kun. I'll go drink some water" Kuroko got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen.

Kagami typed the number and waited. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance!

…

…

…

"Yo, Bakagami"

Kagami smirked.

"Ahomine"

"What do you want? I'm busy playing videogames so hurry up and tell me. I hope you didn't call for no reason." A digital music could be heard on the backgroud. "Shit! I lost! Damn Bakagami just hurry up, okay?!"

"Fine, fine. I called you because...well it's a long story but do you have any plans from the 20th of July to the 12th of August?"

"Huh?! What the hell? How should I know!? It's a three weeks period, idiot, I can't say! OH FUCK THAT BLUE SHELL I WAS FIRST DAMN IT"

"Just tell me if you have made any plans with your parents, a family trip, a summer training camp with your team,...wait, are you playing Mario Kart? WHAT THE HELL HAHAHAHAHAHA" He bursted out laughing on the phone

"SHUT UP GODDAMNIT. Your laughter is fucking noisy. My little cousin visited me yesterday and he forgot this stupid game. It's been a while since I played it so I just wanted to try it again and-"

"And you even suck at it! Hahahahahaha!"

"Oi stop it Bakagami, just say what you have to say or I'm hanging up"

"Hahahahaha jeez, fine, relax, dude. My father called me and he said this year my birthday present is two tickets to the NBA Special Summer Camp, the one in Chicago, you know it, don't you. Well I have to bring someone with me so I was wondering if you were...uhm...free" Kagami smirked. He knew what was going to happen next.

No one talked for at least three minutes.

Then Aomine reacted.

"Wait...What?"

"Oh come on don't make me repeat it, damn! I said that my father called me and-"

"WHAT THE HELL! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOU'RE NOT JOKING, ARE YOU?"

"OF COURSE NOT, AHOMINE! I'm not an ass like you, I'd never make such a joke!" He sighed.

"...Dammit. And stop saying I'm an ass, _you_ ass!. ...well, anyway, I have to ask my folks about it but it's fine with me... I mean it's more than fine, it's fucking amazing. Th...th.." He stopped for a second.

"What?"

.

.

.

"… … … Thanks, I guess"

"Woah, the almighty Aomine Daiki being grateful, what next, the Apocalypse?"

"...shut up."

"Hahaha I'm glad you liked the idea. Well I gotta go now, apparently Kuroko can't find a glass to drink, what about we go for a one-on-one tomorrow to talk about the details? Is 10:00 am okay with you?"

"Sounds good. Say hi to Tetsu on my behalf."

"Sure. See ya at the court, then"

"Ah, wait, Kagami... "

.

"Thanks, really"

Kagami smiled

"You're welcome, Aomine".

That was going to be a different summer.

In a _good_ way.

* * *

**Okay sooo... I don't know anything about NBA because I'm not from the USA so I have no ways of following the matches (although I wish to), nor do I know if there actually is something like a summer camp, so I'm sorry if I write weird things that do not correspond to reality :c . I chose the city of Chicago because I did some research and I found out that there's a very big stadium (the one of the Chicago Bulls team whose name I don't remember, sorry T.T), so I thought it would be the perfect location for the training camp.  
**

**Also, it took me a while to figure out the flight times LOL, because there is a 14 hrs gap between Chicago and Tokyo, while the direct flight lasts about 12 hrs, plus I'm no good with math, so my brain kinda exploded while trying to set the time but it's okay now :D .**

**Then again, I'm sorry if I made any grammar/concept mistakes, I didn't mean to do so. If you notice a very ugly one you can write me a message and I'll fix it ;)  
Thanks for reading, I'll try to update weekly, even if I'm going through a rough exam session in May-June. **

**cya!**

**( ****･****ω****･****)****ﾉ ****-BB33-**


	2. Ch1

Hello everyone! I updated sooner than expected because I'm SO into this story! *w*

First of all, I would like to **thank** all those of **you** who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorites/follows! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart! This is my FIRST fanfic, so it means a lot to me -\\\\\\\\\\-

Again, please keep in mind that English is not my first language, therefore I'm sorry for any mistakes.

Moving on, here's the second (in the story, first) chapter, I hope you'll like it :3

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kuroko no Basket nor its characters

Enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER 1: MY FEELINGS, MY FEARS, MY TEARS.

TIME: 09:00 DAY: 7/17/20XX

Kagami woke up by the annoying sound of the alarm clock. He was so tired he went to sleep right after Kuroko left the house, the unfinished milkshake still in the kitchen. He lazily opened his eyes and smiled: in a few days, he would go to the USA with Aomine Daiki, his #1 rival, and also his favorite person in the world. It was going to be awesome and the wait was already killing him. The red-haired teen got up from the messy bed and started getting ready for the one-on-one they had in an hour, and damn, he was getting fired up: this time he would definitely crush the blue-haired idiot! He kept grinning to himself while he got dressed and started cooking _some_ breakfast (he needed enough energy and stamina to face the guy so he would need at least 10 pancakes). After that, he packed his sports bag with his towel and a bottle of water, then he left, making his way through the bright, yet still dim, sunlight.

Looking at the sky with the palm of his hand protecting his eyes from the light, he started heading towards the public court that was just two buildings far from his house. The court wasn't exceptionally big, but it was the perfect size for his challenges with Aomine: it offered enough space to move without making players wander around too much. Just perfect for their matches. He could already see the metallic fence surrounding the court.  
And there he was.

Aomine was already practicing his shots while waiting for him. Now he couldn't stop the rush of adrenaline to shook him up throughout his body. Smiling like the idiot he was, he threw his bag on the floor and ran close to the friend, careful to go unnoticed, then he snatched the ball away from his hands and went for a surprising dunk right above the other player's head. Aomine stayed there, dumbfounded for a moment, but he quickly reacted consequently. Kagami was _not_ getting away with that. The blue-haired player immediately picked up the ball and _it_ started. They looked at each other with the hungry look they always had when they were up to a challenge, and the battle begun. Aomine grinned and started dribbling, trying to get past his rival on the left, but Kagami had expected that, their many one-on-ones had made him familiar with the rival's basketball, so he was already, successfully, blocking his way.

"Still sleeping, Ahomine?"

The other player scoffed,

"Shut up and watch, bastard"

Aomine got back on his steps and penetrated Kagami's defense on the right. The red-haired boy couldn't catch up to that speed of his.

"Who's sleeping now, Bakagami"

"Tch!"

Aomine went for a formless shot, but, surpriningly, Kagami was right on him, jumping as high as he could while extending his right arm to steal the ball. Even though he barely got to touch it with the tip of his finger, the shot missed. Kagami glanced at the rival with a superior look, and the guy answered rolling his eyes, annoyed. Through they (already) heavy breaths, Kagami went to pick the ball up and started dribbling again, just to face Aomine at the center of the court. Sparks were staring to fly between their heated stares. They both loved that wild feeling, the blood rushing through their veins as they tried to catch up to the rival's movement and pace. The game went on for more than two hours between Kagami's high jumps and strong dunks and Aomine's formless shots, but, in the end, Aomine won, even if just by a short score difference.

Exhausted, they lied on the concrete, satisfied with their straining match.

"Hah... you lost _again_, Bakagami"

"Shut up, bastard, you won by _two_ points!"

"I still won" he smirked "the on-"

"_The only one who can beat me is me" _Kagami said mockingly, "still saying that after we beat your ass at the Winter Cup? How much of an idiot can you be?!" He laughed.

"I beat you all the time when we play one-on-one. You _happened_ to win because you had your team, plus Tetsu, with you. You alone wouldn't win against me in a million years...heh"

"We still beat you, though, so that line of yours is _absolute_ bullshit. Plus if you really think I'm never gonna beat you, why the hell do you keep playing against me?

"...

...Because"

"HAH! Just accept the fact that I'm strong, and very soon I'll beat your ass so good you'll remember it for the rest of your stupid life"

"Keep dreaming, Bakagami, you can get your rematch tomorrow, same place, same time."

"I can't tomorrow. I have practice with my team from morning to evening. If you want we can make it the day after tomorrow."

"Deal."

They both smirked.

Aomine got up and walked to his bag to drink some water. Kagami followed him and did the same, he was thirsty as hell.

"Time."

"Huh?!" Kagami looked at the blue-haired guy confusedly

"Tell me the time"

"You... Can't you even ask the time properly?! I'm not your butler, Ahomine!"

"Cut the crap and just tell me already"

"It's 12:23, happy now?"

"Very."

Then Aomine lifted his chin to drink from his bottle, and Kagami was suddenly left there staring. _Oh. my. Gosh. _Water droplets were running on his rival's dark skin, tracing his jaw, his neckline, his collarbones to disappear in the crook of his shirt, that sticked to his body thanks to the sweat, exposing the shape of his well-built chest and muscles, even the ones a bit lower than the chest...

He kept following the small drops and their "fantastical" routes in those unexplored, beautiful lands...Well they were unexplored to him, of course. Kagami knew the guy had one hell of a reputation as the "playboy" of Touou, and he had heard the guy's previous teammates, the GoM members, referring to the fact that he used to be like that since middle school, more than once. Kagami couldn't help but feel jealous of all the women who got to touch, kiss, or even just look at that handsome body without restrictions. And that was another obstacle he would have to overcome if he wanted their relationship to get to the next level. Of which he was still insecure. Would it really be better if they were to become _more_ than friends? If he ever got the chance to do that, what then? It was possible that the blue-haired idiot would break things up right after, he was a boob freak after all, there was no way he would find interest in a guy, moreover a guy _like_ _him_. And if that happened, BOOM, friendship in pieces, no more one-on-ones, no more wild challenges, no more adrenaline rushes.

Right now it was enough to him to just stare without touching, but how long could he refrain himself, prevent his feelings from showing, for the sake of that twisted friendship they had?

Those were questions that didn't have an answer.

"Oi, are you done staring?"

Kagami was brought back to Earth from his rival's voice

"Uh, what?"

"You've been staring for a while, do I have something on my face?" Aomine was wearing his signature smirk.

Kagami quickly turned his head to the side, hiding his flushed expression.

"No, I was just thinking about something"

"_Sure_"

"It's true, Ahomine, why would I even _look_ at someone like you?" He feigned disinterest and started drinking.

" 'Cuz I'm hot, obviously!?"

"You shouldn't be the one to decide that, you know?"

"I don't" he smirked "_the chicks_ say that to me, you know."

"I still don't get how they can stay around an ass like you for more than ten seconds, you're damn rude!"

"Don't you mean an ass like _mine_?" He smirked again and walked behind Kagami, facing his back. Then he wrapped his arm around Kagami's neck and seductively whispered into his ear "But I assure you my ass is not the only _great_ thing I have."

Kagami froze. That deep voice was just too much to handle. And he started to feel hot, but this time it wasn't because of the sun.

"Come on, Kagami, just admit that you were staring, I won't get mad, you know?" The red-haired boy finally decided to react. He slapped the rival's arm away and withdrew from him. Then he tried to conceal, as much as he could, his flushed gaze with an angry expression. Shit, they still had to talk about the USA thing.

"Bastard! What the hell-"

Suddenly a cheerful and shrill voice interrupted him, and the two players turned around to see a familiar face.

"Aominecchi!"

"What-"

The tanned guy didn't have time to react to what was happening.

Kise threw himself at Aomine, hugging him while putting on a pouty face.

"Aominecchi so here is where you've been all this time! I've been searching for you like crazy and you never pick up my calls! Meeeh~"

"Get off, Kise!"

_Great, just great._ Kagami couldn't ask for more to mess his day up. Lately Kise had been all touchy-feely with Aomine, even after the official matches, and it was starting to _bother_ him. No. It's better to say he was simply pissed off. Not only was the guy handsome and kind of girly, but he was also good at basketball (he couldn't deny it), and a nice person (maybe just a bit _too_ clingy sometimes).He couldn't NOT be very jealous of the blonde, besides, those two had been close friends since years ago. He wasn't a match for Kise, and he knew that. Everything about him was...stunning, his shiny gold hair, that silver earring, his pale skin that matched his perfectly fit body. He worked as a model after all. If Aomine would ever think of looking at a man _that_ way, he was sure that would be Kise. In his view the cheerful boy wasn't especially attractive, though. In fact he lacked that challenging attitude he loved in Aomine. He wouldn't even compare the two. But to the blue-haired rival, the blonde would be the perfect chance if he ever wanted to try something..._different. _Or so Kagami thought. He even admitted they would look good together.

But the worst part of it was the fact that Kagami knew he shouldn't hold a grudge against Kise, because he was a great guy. Even so, that attitude he had towards Aomine pissed him off to no limits.

"Hi Kagamicchi!" He gently waved.

"Yo, Kise, what's up?"

"Aominecchi is mean, he never answers my phone calls, and I spent all the morning looking for him!" He pouted.

"That's because you're damn annoying, Kise" Aomine shook him off himself.

"Well, now that I've found you I won't let you get away easily: the day after tomorrow you will accompany me shopping for my next photo shoot! It's been a while since we last went out together, and you owe me lots of free meals at Maji Burger! This will be you paying me back!" He smiled happily.

"Hell no."

"But why?"

"Reason 1: again, you're damn annoying. Reason 2: I have already settled a one-on-one with Bakagami on that day"

"Oh come on! You and Kagamicchi can play whenever you want to! We haven't seen each other for so long, I'm always busy with the shoots! Can't you play together on another day, Kagamicchi?"

Kagami was pissed off to no end. Not only did Kise interrupt their conversation hugging the guy _he _liked, now he was asking _him _to postpone the one-on-one with Aomine to go out with him, just the two of them. On the other hand, what could he do? Who was he to tell Aomine not to go? Kise was a nice person, after all. And their friendship was deeper than the one that Kagami had with his rival. In that situation, he couldn't do anything but stand back and let it go. Unluckily, he was starting to feel a weird pain in his chest, the pain that always came up whenever he thought of those two together. He sighed.

"If Aomine wishes to, it's fine with me." He said.

"What, you sure, Bakagami?"

"...yeah, I mean, it would be nice if we played the rematch of this one-on-one, but if you have to go there's no helping it, is there."

Aomine didn't answer. Kise did for him.

"Yaaaay! Thank you, Kagamicchi! Then it's settled" He looked at Aomine "In two days we're going shopping downtown. Meeting point: 11 o'clock in front of your house." He smiled so brightly Kagami could feel his eyes burn. Maybe not because of the brightness, though. And of course, the blonde _knew_ where Aomine lived..right.

Before Kise started walking away, Kagami felt like asking something.

"Hey, Kise"

"Mh, what?"

"How can you willingly ask to spend a whole day with this idiot?" He pointed at Aomine, mockingly. But, of course, that wasn't what he wanted to know. He wanted to see how deep their relationship was.

Suddenly, he had a bad feeling. The feeling he shouldn't have asked.

"Well then I might just tell you our lil' secret"

"Not this again, Kise!"

"Oh come on, Aominecchi! Kagami is a good friend, he won't tell"

_What? Tell what? What was going on?_

"I said stop it. Don't make me repeat myself."

"What are you talking about?" Kagami finally asked.

"See, he's interested!"

"Just shut up for hell's sake!"

"You know, Kagamicchi, even if this meanie can't stand me right now, we used to be quite the _good_ friends back in Teikou."

"Cut it ou-"

"Maybe even _more_ than that" he giggled

Oh no, Kagami wasn't ready for this. He could already feel the pain in his chest getting stronger, hurting him.

It was too late to stop Kise, though.

"Shut the fuck up, Kise! It was _one_ time, okay?! Stop bringing that up every single time!"

"Hehehe, it stil happened, though"

"I told you to shu-"

"What happened?"

Kagami wasn't controlling his brain anymore, he was in "autopilot" mode. He could feel his heart aching inside his chest, but it was too late to go back and "unask" that fateful question. So he thought he might as well know everything.

Wrong choice, Kagami.

"Let's say one _night_ Aominecchi and I became a bit _more_ than friends."

"Huh? What do you mean?" He couldn't mean _that_, could he...

Kise blushed.

"It's a bit embarassing to say it, but...

...we were each other's firsts" And he swung his arm around Aomine's shoulder.

That did it.

Kagami felt something cracking. Was it his brain? Was it his heart? It didn't matter. His worst fear had just become real. Just how could that happen?! WHEN? WHY? Why did Aomine even go with a guy?! Wasn't he the boob-freak playboy of Teikou during those years? How could that fucking happen?! And the very worst thing was that the idiot's first time was Kise. A guy. A great person and a handsome one as well. The one he could never catch up to. Did they use to go out? Were they _still_ going out? Sometimes Aomine's pokerface was even worse that Kuroko's. He didn't understand anything anymore. He just wanted to dig a hole through the Earth's crust to the center of the planet, and rest there forever. Alone. In complete darkness. What he got from the whole picture was that there _was _a chance that Aomine would find interest in guys_, _but_ that_ "guys" only included Kise. He would never make it. He was just the idiot's rival, after all. What did he expect? They were cursing and shouting at each other's faces the whole time, damn it! There was no way the guy would find something like that even a _bit_ nice. He did, though, but it was a different matter.

And Aomine wasn't saying anything about it, thus it wasn't a joke.

Fuck.

"That shocked, Kagamicchi?"

Kagami managed to answer s he could, playing the "nice friend". But he couldn't stand the situation any longer.

"No, I'm just surprised because I didn't thing you both...swung that way. Ah but I won't judge you, I'm not homophobic or whatever, so... good luck with your relationship, I guess"

"Bakagami, that was a one time thing, we were drunk. it never happened again, and it _never_ will. And I DO NOT swing that way."

Saying that, he eyed the blond guy with an accusing expression.

"If you say so, Aominecchi" Kise smiled wickedly.

Kagami resumed.

"Well, I just remembered I have some urgent "business" to attend. See you"

"Huh, what? Wait, Bakagami, where are you going?! What about the USA thing?"

"USA what?!" Kise inquired, but was ignored by the two of them.

"Just... We'll talk about it some other time. Gotta go, bye"

He waved and went to grab his bag, placing it on his shoulder. Then he walked towards the open side of the metallic fence.

Leaving the place, he could feel all the agonizing pressure squashing him from the inside. He started running to the left, to the closest corner of the street, in a small alley where he could hide from the other two players that were still inside the court. The yellowish wall supported his back as he let himself fall to the ground. When his bottom touched the warm concrete he widened his eyes, feeling something wet on his face...was it raining? He looked up and saw it was getting cloudy, but not a single raindrop was falling. He gently touched his cheeks with his fingertips, feeling some wet drops as they fell down his face, tracing his features before ending up on his knees and, finally, on the ground. Were those...tears? Was he crying? He didn't get it. He was so messed up he just wanted to rest there for a while, away from the world he knew. He didn't want to think anymore.

He stayed there, sitting on the ground, until he heard some familiar footsteps. Aomine and Kise were leaving too. He turned his face on the corner of the wall to see if they were coming his way. Luckily, after leaving the court they turned right, together; but that didn't matter: he was safe. He couldn't let anyone see him in that pitiful state, if so, his pride would be crushed. After a few minutes, Kagami decided to stand up, but he didn't feel like going home yet. He was too upset, plus, being alone would mean thinking, and thinking meant going over that painful morning again and again. He didn't want that, no fucking way. He wiped the teardrops away with his hands and walked to the main street when...

"Taiga!"

He froze on the spot, turning just his eyes to the side to see the owner of that familiar voice.

"...Tatsuya?"

* * *

AAAND I'm sorry for the kinda-cliffhanger, but I had to cut the original chapter in two parts, since it was far too long for my liking. (I'll try to keep them between 2k and 4k words, which is the perfect length to me, if you update weekly (that's what I'll try to do)).

Anyway, thanks for reading the story and **this** **part**, since most of the time people skip it ( ***hugs* you're a great person**).

**MORE TO COME!** What is Himuro doing there? What will be of Kagami's heart? What will happen on Aomine and Kise's shopping day? And who is the "Kaito" guy that was introduced in the previous chapter? The mystery thickens... *dramatic music plays on background*

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If so, you can review/fav/follow/whatever (I'm not forcing you lol) [you can also tell me any mistakes I made in writing the chapter, I'll fix them right away]

cya!

( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-


	3. Ch2

**Hello, everyone! another fast update! :3**

**Thanks for your reviews to the story so far, they always make me smile! And thanks to all those of you who added this story to their favs/follows, as well! And also to all the ones that enjoyed it without doing any of those things! THANKS *chuu***

**Sooo, here's the new chapter of Chained Chance, and it's a longer one (YAY!) It's full of FEELS, FEELS, FEELS and let's not forget about the FEELS. The plot thickens and so do the characters' relationships. *dun dun dunnn* IT'S TIME TO KNOW AHO-MINE'S FEELINGS!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading this story!**

* * *

CHAPTER 2: **EXPECTED X UNEXPECTED**.

TIME: 12:30 DAY: 7/17/20XX

He looked at his "brother" that was on the other side of the street, next to the convenience store that was there. Himuro wasn't stupid, he would notice something was off with Kagami; And apparently he did, because he started walking his way, crossing the road to get to the opposite sidewalk. The red-haired boy tried to cover his hurt expression facing the other way, but he knew it would be vain. Himuro approached him and gently placed his hand on the other's shoulder, looking at him.

"Taiga..."

Kagami couldn't hide himself anymore, he knew Himuro had noticed. Thus, he decided to look back at his brother. To his surprise, the other wasn't shocked from seeing him in that state. Could he have it all figured out?

"Let's have a talk, we can go to Maji Burger. We'll have to wait for Atsushi, though: he's inside the store buying some snacks" Then Himuro gently smiled.

Kagami didn't know what to say. He had told Himuro about his feelings for Aomine, he was the only one who knew. On a day when they were together Kagami was looking a bit down, so his brother had asked what had happened justifying his concern with the line "_a secret for a secret", _saying that if the red-haired boy told him the source of his sadness, he would tell something about himself too. Of course, Kagami couldn't refuse his brother, thus he talked about his "Aomine complex" and his unusual jealousy towards Kise. Himuro listened attentively, but he didn't look surprised at all, instead, he even said it was kind of _expected..._how could anything like that be expected?! Anyway, Himuro's "secret" was definitely _less_ expected to Kagami: it turned out that his brother was dating the purple giant, who was also about to move together with him, since Himuro lived alone in his apartment just like Kagami. He knew they were good friends, but there was _no way _he could have predicted _that_.

So, apparently, he was now going to Maji's with the _two_ of them, where he would feel like non other than the _third_ wheel and Murasakibara would throw daggers at him through his jealous glares. Great. He could't say no, though. He was still so shocked about that troublesome conversation (and the fact that he _cried_) that he needed to talk to someone, to blow off the tension and the anxiety. Plus, he owed his brother an explanation.

After a few seconds, Murasakibara appeared with his hands full of bags packed with all kinds of snacks and candies. How he still had no cavities nor diabetes was still an unsolved mystery to the scientific world. Kagami waved at the giant, and the sweet-toothed guy waved back.

"Uh? Kagachin, are you ok? You look upset."

"Hi."

"Atsushi, Taiga needs help with something, we're going to Maji's together to talk a bit, ok?"

"Mmh, fine with me" He looked disinterested and started stuffing his mouth with pocky sticks. Meanwhile, a bus stopped near the store.

"Let's take this bus, Taiga, it stops near the restaurant."

They got on the bus, taking the back seats. There were four of those, so Kagami took the one on the left, Murasakibara the one on the right, and the black-haired teen sat next to his boyfriend, leaving the seat next to his brother empty. Looking at the window, though, the pale guy saw something, no, _someone _familiar next to the basketball court...was that...?

They looked at each other for an instant, the other guy glared at him an then looked inside the bus. He clearly saw something he didn't like, because he turned around and walked away with an annoyed look on his face. Himuro was about to follow him with his eyes, when the bus started leaving.

It was a pretty quiet ride, none of them felt like talking: Kagami was still facing the consequences of that fateful conversation, the purple giant was too busy eating candies, and Himuro knew it was inappropriate to say anything in those circumstances.

They got off the bus after two stops but to Kagami they felt like fifty. They went inside the fast food restaurant and picked a table on the most isolated corner of the room (they needed some privacy after all), then Himuro and Kagami went to queue, leaving Murasakibara to his snacks.

The line wasn't long, but Himuro felt like it was the right time to start asking questions.

"Is it about him, Taiga?"

"Yeah, well, kind of.."

"..."

"..."

"It must be something pretty serious for you to get in this state" He looked at his red-haired brother, noticing his face a bit flushed and his slightly swollen eyes. He probably cried.

"It was just...something unexpected"

"Sir, would you like to order?", asked the girl at the counter.

"Oh, right." Kagami shook those painful thoughts off him. "Two cheeseburgers and a small Coke, thanks"

"Alright! That would be 460 ¥, please." The girl smiled to their customers.

Kagami paid for his meal and then waited for Himuro. His brother, though, was getting even more worried, seeing the red-haired teen only buying two burgers, instead of the usual amount that was around twelve of those. After they both grabbed the trays, they headed to their seats, where Murasakibara was still eating snacks (chips, now). Kagami sat down looking at the food without uttering a word, but after a few seconds he felt like asking something.

"Why are you even here in Tokyo?" That question made sense, they lived pretty far from there.

"Atsushi said he wanted to visit the Ueno Zoo, so we came all the way here from Akita. It's a shame it was closed, though."

"I see.."

Then silence dominated the scene again.

"So..." Himuro started.

"So."

"About what happened, well, _what_ happened exactly?"

"I don't know if I feel like saying it right now" Kagami looked at Murasakibara. It wasn't that he didn't trust the guy, but that was an extremely confidential matter, plus the purple-haired teen was still Aomine's ex-teammate.

"Don't worry, Atsushi is probably too busy eating, anyway, and we can still talk about it without using _names_." Murasakibara kept looking at his treasures hidden inside the shopping bags.

"Jeez, fine already"

"So...?"

"So...yes, it's about _them"_

"I knew it. Go on._"_

Kagami sighed and avoided eye contact with Himuro. It would be both embarrassing and awkward to say something like that to_ anyone._

"Are you sure you want to hear this? It's a pretty long story, I don't think-_"_

"Go on, Taiga, I know you need some advice anyway" He smiled.

"Whatever... It all started yesterday when my father called me and said this year my birthday present consists in two tickets to an NBA summer training camp in Chicago, and I invited _them _to come with me_."_

Himuro was surprised Kagami-san had accepted his advice about the NBA thing, and the "two tickets" part as well, but he didn't intend to tell Taiga he had taken part in the idea. He kept his contentment to himself.

" 'Kay"

"So...we met this morning at the court to talk about the trip, and it was going great, really. But then_ another person _came_. That _person_." _Kagami emphasized the term glaring at his brother, alluding to the blond guy, and the black-haired teen immediately understood the reference.

"_That person_ started to hug _them _and telling shit like they hadn't been going out since forever, then _that person_ asked _me _to postpone the meeting I had arranged with_ them, _in order to let them go out together..."

"I see, that wasn't nice, was it."

Kagami took a deep breath and finally looked into his brother's eyes.

"But the worst thing was that I don't even know HOW but, _somehow, that person _ended up exposing the fact that, some time ago, they slept together. And on top of that, it was the first time for both of them..." Himuro suddenly widened his eyes at the surprising fact.

"Oh..."

Kagami clenched his fists under the table. And averted his gaze again.

"After that, I couldn't take the situation anymore, so I left and crawled in a corner of the street. And I found myself crying." He paused "Then, when I felt them both walking away from the court, _together_, I got up and came out of my hiding spot. And then you called my name."

Himuro didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine the fact that his brother had been through such painful moments that even made him _cry_. But at least Taiga decided to open himself to him, which was the right thing to do. All that excruciating pain would surely drive him crazy if he didn't release it talking to someone. The black-haired teen was about to say something when a surprising voice broke out.

"Oooh is Kagachin in love?"

The two brothers looked at Murasakibara, astonished.

"Uh...well.. Yeah." It was no use hiding it at that point.

"Do I know _them_?"

Kagami wasn't sure about that question. Did the purple giant feign disinterest while, instead, being actually very into the conversation? The red-haired thought about it: the guy could be listening because he was jealous of his closeness to Himuro, thus he wanted to know what urgent business they had to talk about. Kagami didn't find any other possible reason.

"You know too well that if you did _not_ we wouldn't be using indefinite pronouns or adjectives to address _them_, Atsushi. We _know_ you're not stupid." Himuro said with his usual "smiling" pokerface.

"Then why can't you tell me who _they_ are?" He pouted.

"Atsushi, weren't you all focused on your lovely snacks?" Tatsuya was now smiling awkwardly, eyeing (glaring at) his boyfriend.

"I'm just being curious, Murochin." Then he resumed, while Kagami was getting more and more weirded out. Since when was the guy even _curious_ about anything?. "Kagachin talked about a court, and since we're talking _about_ Kagachin it was probably a basketball one." What?! Was he playing detective now? Kagami could somehow imagine him crawling on his chair with his thumb between his teeth, dark circles around his eyes, eating cake (Wait, what?). Meanwhile, Himuro kept staring at his boyfriend. Apparently he was as dumbfounded as his brother, seeing his lover behaving so strangely. "I know only two girls that find interest in basketball, though. There is Momoi, but she has a huge crush on Tetsu, and I don't think she's close enough to Kagachin to meet up with him, just the two of them. Aside from her, there's Seirin's coach, but she doesn't look like Kagachin's type. Plus they don't actively _play_ basketball, so they would have no reason to go to an NBA training camp. That's weird." He concluded.

"You're the weird one here, dude" Kagami answered.

"Atsushi, what _exactly_ did you eat? Did they sell _you_ some _weird_ candies, maybe?"

"I don't think so, Murochin." And to prove that, he ate a marshmallow. "Mgh, Instead, I think they're pretty good." He kept munching. Okay, now Kagami was starting to freak out. Just what the hell was happening with the giant guy?! And on top of that, he was _very_ close to a _very_ critical information about Kagami's interests.

"So, Kagachin... Since I don't know any girls that match your description, are you possibly in love with a _guy_?" Kagami's jaw dropped. He looked at his brother. Himuro answered the look with a shocked expression that said "Not even _I_ know what the fuck is with him".

"I don't want to force you, Kagachin, but since I know _them _maybe I could be of help, somehow._"_

"_What?!"_

"You look upset, so if I really do know _them_, especially if _they'_re someone among the Generation of Miracles, I could give you some advice..."

Himuro's jaw dropped as well, and the two brothers exchanged a confused glance. Was Murasakibara actually trying to be..._nice_?

All of a sudden, the raven-haired guy relaxed.

"Atsushi! You could have said so from the start! I was getting pretty freaked out with your sudden change of behavior. By the way, what do you say, Taiga?"

Taiga froze for a second, but thinking about it, it couldn't be so bad, after all. The guy had already discovered most of the issue by himself anyway, so Kagami could as well make the most of that situation.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but promise me you won't tell anyone, okay?"

" 'Mkay"

"..."

"It's Minechin, isn't it?"

Kagami widened his eyes, just HOW...?!

"How...How did you know?!" He glared at his brother, did _he_ tell him?

"It wasn't me! I didn't tell a soul, Taiga! How could you even suspect me of revealing _your_ secret?!"

Damn, he knew he shouldn't have doubted his brother. "Yeah, right...I'm sorry, it's just that-"

"Well, it was kinda expected anyway" Murasakibara said, still eating marshmallows.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Now he was saying that too? Had he been so obvious all this time?

"I guess anyone could feel the tension you both exhaled during your match at the Winter Cup. And it didn't happen just that one time. It's a very... _singular _tension, I would say. Kinda like a sexual one." Kagami's jaw almost touched the floor from the statement and he blushed furiously.

"You're being very talkative today, aren't you, Atsushi"

"Hmpf!" He pouted "I'm just trying to help _your_ brother anyway"

Himuro blushed. Whas his boyfriend doing that for him? If so, it was indeed a lovely demonstration of his feelings.

"Thanks, Atsushi" He smiled and grabbed the other teen's hand under the table.

"Murochin..."

"Ok, I'm very happy things are great between you two. Now, can we focus on my problem again, please?" Kagami was getting frustrated. All those PDAs did was pouring salt on his wound.

"Oh I'm sorry, Taiga. Atsushi, what's your advice on Taiga's problem?"

"Mgh," He chewed on a chocolate bar "first I have to know who the other person is"

For some time now Kagami had forgotten about that morning's events. The memory of that scene struck him again with full force. He suddenly turned serious and took a deep breath.

"It's Kise."

"Oh, I see" He kept chewing " Mgh, well, they have been pretty close since middle school, and about _that_ thing you mentioned, I remember that night quite clearly. It was the night after our victory at the middle school basketball championship. As you may know, that was the last match Kurochin played in, since he got so upset about what happened to his friend Ogiwara Shigehiro after the finals (It was me and the other team members' fault though, we became such heartless basketball beasts in a few months time). Mhmhmhg Anyway, since Kisechin's parents weren't home that night and he had the house all to himself, he decided to invite us over to celebrate the victory. After a while, though, the other guys found the not-well-hidden cabinet where Kisechin's folks kept their liquors, and we started drinking some. It took us just a sip to get totally drunk, and I remember seeing Midochin fainting right away. In the meantime, Kisechin and Minechin started mumbling random things and then they headed towards one of the rooms. I guess that's when _that_ happened. I don't think you should give it much importance, though." And he took a huge bite of the chocolate bar. "_Haffeh ar, they weh boh dhuhk_". "I think he means that after all, they were both drunk" Himuro explained.

Even so, Kagami couldn't just forget about it, that was something still hurting him deep inside, and the pain wouldn't fade away anytime soon.

"Changing topics, do you have any advice to give me? Like, how can I...grab his attention or something..." He felt so embarrassed asking the guy something like that, but, at that point, beating around the bush was a no-go.

"Well, I think the way you normally act around him is already enough to..."grab his attention". Anyway, I'm sorry to tell you that an indecisive approach will not work with Minechin: either you tell him your feelings or you don't do it at all. I think you're still unsure about what you really want your relationship to be like." Murasakibara hit the nail on the head.

"You're right, I still haven't decided about that" He sighed.

"Think carefully about it, Taiga, because it will decide the future of the friendship you have with him" Himuro added.

"Okay, I'll think about it."

The conversation didn't actually solve any of his problems. Nevertheless, it helped him clarifying many things, as well as his feelings for the blue-haired idiot, and it managed to clear his mind a bit. And Murasakibara turned out to be quite the great guy.

He looked at the Yosen players and exhaled a breath.

"Thanks guys, really...this means a lot to me"

"You're welcome, Taiga. You know you can always count on me." This time Himuro gave him a full smile.

"Yeah, I know, Tatsuya" He softly smiled back. "And I owe you one, Murasakibara."

"Just buy me some snacks and we're even" Kagami saw a faint smile between the teen's bitings.

Now that he felt better, he decided to leave the other two to themselves: that was supposed to be their date after all.

"Thanks, again, guys." Picking his bag up, he got up from his chair and started walking towards the door. "I have to go somewhere." Then he turned his head to face his friends "Have a nice date" And giving them a bright smile, he left.

He was glad his brother found a great person to share his life with. He deserved to be happy.

"Bye, Taiga, and thanks!" Himuro would have asked his brother to stay a bit more, but he knew the red-haired player needed some time alone.

Kagami exited the restaurant and looked up the sky once again, but he felt his face getting hit by wet drops. He checked his cheeks, but this time, he wasn't crying. It had started raining.

"Shit!"

He started running on the streets holding his bag over his head to find shelter from the drops, but with no avail. He was now drenched and exhausted from all the things that had happened to him since that morning. He went over them again. He remembered leaving the house smiling and playing an amazing one-on-one with his precious rival, experiencing excruciating pain with Kise's arrival, sitting in a corner, _crying, _then confessing all his feelings to Himuro and Murasakibara. And that had all happened in just a few hours.

Few hours that had undoubtedly messed up his day.

Still running, he could finally see some very familiar buildings, a sign that he was almost home.

When he arrived in front of the building he lived in, he stopped, breathing heavily due to the fast rush. It was already 16:30 in the evening, he just had to cross the road and go up the stairs, then it would all be over and he could finally dry himself and rest for a while.

He started moving again when he saw someone he _didn't expect to see, _sitting on the steps to his house's building.

"Aomine?" He didn't even realize he had just called his rival's name.

"Yo, Bakagami"

* * *

After Kagami left the court, Aomine was left alone with Kise, which he didn't like. Especially because Kagami looked upset when he left. Especially because he knew far too well that the red-haired rival harbored _special_ feelings towards him.

It didn't take a genius to notice. It started a while after their match at the Winter Cup. Aomine had caught Kagami staring at him countless times. It was obvious how the rival always took the chance to give a furtive glance to his body when they played their one-on-ones, whether it was directed to his abs, his armpits, his leaning neck, his collarbones or his Adam's apple. And he had found out that Kagami especially loved that round thing on his throat, since he was staring at it most of the time. And that look wasn't a neutral one at all: Kagami stared intensively, with a dazed expression and his lips slightly parted. The fact that he yearned for that hot body of his was clear for the world to see. He was used to being looked at, anyway, the chicks at his school stared at him all the time, drooling. Even so, Kagami's attitude was different. He had never tried to seduce him, somehow, nor had he tried to confess his attraction. He just stared. Nevertheless, Aomine knew the red-haired guy wouldn't be satisfied with just those quick glances. Kagami was an idiot, but an idiot with feelings, and he kew that, he could see how daringly he treated his most precious people, such as Tetsu and that Himuro guy. Knowing that, the guy had probably developed deeper feelings for him, not just a physical attraction, and maybe he didn't feel like putting their friendship on the line to hazard something more.

Because Aomine was an ass, but he wasn't blind nor stupid.

And when they faced each other on the court, _Gosh,_ that was the best feeling ever. The adrenaline, the wildness, the challenge. He loved everything about their one-on-ones. In middle school, he had drifted away from his old, kind, self because he couldn't find anyone it was worth facing. Thus, he had invented his signature line "The only one who can beat me is me", a line that sounded full of confidence and arrogance to the others, but hid all his pain on the inside. The pain and the awareness that he would never find anyone that could make him feel the excitement in a match ever again. He would never feel the strong will of not wanting to lose, the will to fight until the end, the competition on the court. Or so he thought.

Kagami had changed all that, he had proven that statement wrong. He was the one he'd been waiting for since his Teikou days, and thanks to him, he could feel passionate about basketball again. And the red-haired rival was a great guy, hot-headed just like him, spontaneous, strong and proud. And he also had a great heart through which he cherished his dearest ones. He knew Kagami felt something more than friendship towards him, instead, he didn't know what he felt for the rival. It was a strong feeling, indeed, but he didn't know if he could call it "love" yet. Kagami sure was attractive, he had a perfectly fit body, smooth skin, and that red hair of his was hypnotic. His also red eyes were always so fierce and passionate Aomine could lose himself in those powerful stares. And those were some of the many reason why the blue-haired player loved watching his rival crumble and come undone under his power. And it was also funny to tease him, since the idiot would always answer with equally challenging provocations that led to a verbal challenge between the two of them. In the end, he had to admit Kagami was an amazing guy, and he surely felt something _special_ towards him...but was _his_ "special" the same as _Kagami's_ "special"? That was the question.

"You shouldn't have said that, Kise, now he's upset. Jeez." He passed his hand between his navy-blue locks and glared at the other teen. When he saw Kagami leave, he knew the guy had made something up because he was shocked by Kise's sudden revelation, after all, who wouldn't be?! But knowing what Kagami felt for him, he knew it was worse than "upset". The guy was probably shocked to no end. He thought about chasing his rival, but the blonde friend would have probably followed him too, so he chose to talk to the guy.

"Well he was the one who asked." Kise shrugged.

"Still, that was unnecessary"

"Whatever, Aominecchi. Well, I have to attend my next photo shoot, my driver's waiting around the corner, let's go." Aomine followed him. It was just around the corner, after all.

They left the court and turned to the right, until they saw Kise's driver waiting inside the black luxury car.

"See ya in two days, Aominecchi!" Kise waved Aomine goodbye, and the blue-haired guy waved back.

Finally alone, Aomine thought about looking for his damn rival. Just a few minutes had passed, so he couldn't have gotten far from the court. He walked his way back on the sidewalk that coasted the metallic fence, then something grabbed his attention. He saw Himuro Tatsuya, Kagami's so-called "brother", sitting on the bus on the opposite side of the road, next to the convenience store that was there. The guy noticed him back and they exchanged a glare. He didn't know why, but the blue-haired teen didn't like the guy at all. There was something _fishy_ about him and that pokerface of his always got on his nerves. Then Aomine looked inside the bus again, and seated next to the emo guy there was none other that Kagami himself, with a pained expression on his face. Aomine scowled and averted his look, then he started walking again, this time directed towards his house. Did Kagami actually have something to do? Had he planned to meet with his brother? Yosen High School was located in the prefecture of Akita, after all, and it took about for hours by train to reach Tokyo from there. It couldn't be a coincidence that Himuro was there, he needed a reason to come visit the city. The thought of Kagami leaving the court to go with the emo guy was starting to bother him quite a bit. And he was even trying to behave like the nice guy and go after him when he left! HA! Fuck that bastard, he didn't deserve any kindness nor sympathy. He would just go home and look at Mai-chan's magazine for the rest of the day.

After walking for about half an hour, he suddenly came to the realization that he was lost. He was so busy thinking about the red-haired idiot that he forgot to follow his usual route. Damn.

"Shit!"

And not only that: he was _starving_. He kept walking for a while until he noticed a ramen stall to the side. He stopped there to grab a bite. The owner was an old man with a white beard, he reminded him of the portrait of his Japanese ancestors, somehow. He was a nice person though. He ate a bowl of ramen and some rice, then asked the man for directions.

"Love issues?"

"Excuse me?!"

"Hahaha, nevermind. Oh, youth is so beautiful"

The owner indicated him the way to the main crossroad, and Aomine left.

"That fucker!" Damn that Bakagami. It was his fault he got lost. Following the man's directions, he found himself at the main crossroad, where he could see a pair of buildings he knew very well. He was near Kagami's house. He was familiar with the place, since they spent many days playing video games together and he had invited himself over countless times after their one-on-ones. Maybe the red-haired idiot was home eating with his damn brother. He had an excuse to break in, anyway: they still had to talk about the USA trip. He rang the doorbell and waited, but no one answered. Since they weren't home, they had probably gone at Maji's.

Tinking about that morning's events, he started worrying about Kagami, again. He did have a pained expression when he saw him on the bus, after all. Besides, Aomine didn't have any reason to rush home. He would just wait for Bakagami and then they would clarify what Kise had said. Knowing the guy, Kagami had probably thought he still liked the model, somehow.

So he waited. And waited. And waited again, but there was no sign of Kagami. Then he heard a sudden noise.

"What the-"

And rain started falling on that summer day, unexpected, unpredicted.

"Just great. Damn Bakagami, you'll pay for making me wait all this time".

He sat on the steps at the building's entrance, sheltered by the balconies. All of a sudden he felt his eyes closing. He rested his head on the closer wall and drifted off to a deep sleep with the sound of the raindrops soothing his stormy mind.

It wasn't until he heard some quick footsteps making their way on the wet sidewalk that he woke up. Opening his eyes, he saw that color he liked so much. That shade of red he always looked for in his matches, then he realized it was Kagami. His rival was standing on the opposite sidewalk, breathing heavily, drenched in the rain. He probably ran to his house. Then Kagami noticed him and their gazes met.

"Aomine?"

"Yo, Bakagami"

Kagami crossed the road and got closer to the guy.

"What are you doing here?" Kagami looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"I was waiting for you. We need to talk. Where's the emo guy?" He couldn't see Himuro anywhere.

"What are you talking about?! Anyway, stand up, we'll talk inside. But first, I have to dry myself off, I'm fucking drenched."

"I can see that." Kagami's clothes were sticking to his body like a second layer of skin.

"Just shut up and come inside." The red-haired boy opened the front door and grabbed Aomine by the sleeve, dragging him inside the building.

* * *

**AAND another chapter is over :C damn!**

**I had to do so much research for this one! I had to find information about Japanese Mc Donald's prices (more or less) and if they use trays. Then I went through a long journey to figure where Yosen is located and how far it is from Tokyo, and it turned out they're pretty far! Originally, I intended to set the talk with Himuro and Murasakibara at their house, but after discovering that the fastest train takes 3hrs and 50mins to get from Tokyo to Akita, I had to set the scene at Maji's (always our last hope ahahaha). And I had to make up a reason for Mura-Muro to come to Tokyo, so I looked among Tokyo's main attraction to find one that could suit Atsushi's taste, and the Uena Zoo was the best choice :P . **

**It was also a lot of work trying to set the timeline equally between Kagami's and Aomine's actions. Wow. I feel so satisfied though.**

**Again, thanks for reading the chapter and _this_ part. (I LOVE YOU)**

**MORE TO COME! What will happen at Kagami's house? Will the idiots make up their minds? The "Kaito" guy's identity finally revealed! And alcohol will come back to give the story some _nice _turn.**

**If you liked this chapter you can leave a review or add the story to your favs/follows!**

**'til next chapter!**

cya!

( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-


	4. Ch3

**Hello everyone! **

**This time it's a longer chapter! I think the next ones will be from 5k to 7k words too.**

**As always, thanks for reading this! And thanks to all those who left a review and/or added Chained Chance to their favs/follows! But, most importantly, thanks for _enjoying_ this fic! :D**

**Again, English is not my first language, so go easy on me and try to overlook any mistakes...(oops)**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kuroko no Basket nor its characters.

**This chapter is about JEALOUSY, as you can read in the title below. There will be Kagami's first attempt to seduce Aomine ;D, and FINALLY the introduction of Kaito! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

CHAPTER 3: **JEALOUSY BURNS**

TIME: 16:23 DAY: 7/17/20XX

They went inside the building and up the stairs, the red-haired teen was leaving wet footprints everywhere, while Aomine silently followed him, trying not to step on them. When they finally reached Kagami's apartment, the guy opened the door and disappeared somewhere inside in order to dry himself off. Meanwhile his rival, who was familiar with the place, let himself fall on the couch, throwing back his head, closing his eyes. He could finally rest _properly_.

After a few minutes he heard the sound of a door opening and turned around. Kagami had just finished taking a shower and was now walking around the room with nothing but a towel to cover his body. Damn. The blue-haired teen could feel his temperature rising, that sun-kissed flesh was _casually_ moving around the living room, exposing its perfect features to the rival, and the guy's nice and round ass was swinging in front of him with hypnotic sways. He couldn't stop staring at that eye-candy. What the hell was with him?!

Kagami knew he shouldn't do something like _that_, but he had to. After that never ending morning he had finally made up his mind: if possible, he wanted something more from the guy, but it would be difficult to understand if Aomine was okay with that, because he was always wearing that annoyed expression that didn't expose any of his true feelings, if he _had_ any at all. And the worst and, at the same time, best way to do that was _testing_ him. And Kagami knew how to do so. The Aho was a very simple-minded guy that was only interested in basketball and _sex, _apparently_. _Therefore, even if it put him in the most embarrassing situation of his whole life, he had to try and see if his rival found any _interest _in him, even if just a bit. That would mean he had a chance of taking it to the next level.

Keeping that in mind, the red-haired teen decided that he had to try no matter what, so he went to take a shower without any spare clothes to wear after it. That was the final trial, the _boss battle_ of the game he'd played in his mind. Looking at the white towel, he took a deep breath and hung it around his waist, a bit beneath the abs, to expose the "V" line of his fit abdomen. Now he just had to go out and walk just kinda like a _whore,_ to swing his hips and make himself look "appealing". Who was he kidding, though? Aomine could never find something like that even worth looking, Instead, he would probably laugh and mock him to no end. But he had to try, at least. He couldn't just stand back and watch because Kise was _a_ _bit_ more handsome than him, he was attractive too, damn! But what he really wanted was not Aomine's body: he wanted all of him, all to himself. Maybe he was really _in love_ with the guy. Even so, that was the only way to find out if he even had a chance, and he was ready to put his pride on the line for that.

"Damn you, Ahomine!" He said to himself.

He opened the door and tried not to look nervous, but his legs were trembling. He deeply inhaled and started walking out of the bathroom, into the living room. He didn't look at the guy, instead, he thought of something to do while being "dressed" like that, something that would grab the idiot's attention. So he went for the fridge (It was the only reasonable thing he could do, anyway). He opened the fridge's door and pretended to look for something inside, while slowly bending forward. Gosh, that was so lame. After a few seconds he had started rummaging through the fridge's content, he could feel his temperature rising all at once. He could feel _his_ gaze on him, resting on his chest, his back, and his butt. Kagami blushed furiously and he could feel his knees getting weaker. His breath was now heavy and unsteady, he was lucky the fridge's insides were cooling him down a bit.

Aomine had been following each of his rival's movement with his heated gaze, but when Kagami bent over to look for something inside the fridge he felt himself losing his mind. _That_ pose, and those tensing muscles that created a perfect curved shape that ended with that _nice_, tight ass. That situation would turn any straight man gay for the idiot. And he couldn't stop staring at that rosy skin displayed in front of his eyes. Was Kagami doing it on purpose? Was he _tempting_ him? It couldn't take the guy that much time to find some food in a fucking fridge! Aomine grinned. If the guy wanted to seduce anyone, the blue-haired teen needed to show him the ropes, first.

He got up from the couch and walked towards the fridge, standing just behind Kagami's figure. Then he slowly leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Need a hand?"

Kagami felt himself melting, hearing that deep, husky voice once again. But he soon realized the situation he was in: he was bent over the fridge's shelf with Aomine bent over _him_. _Behind_ _him_.

He could feel his rival's breath on his neck and his hot skin just above his own. Damn! _He_ was supposed to seduce the guy! Not the other way around! Kagami gulped and answered the tempting question.

"No, thanks, I found what I was looking for" Saying so, he quickly grabbed the milk carton that was just to his side, and he got up, closing the small door. Turning around though, he found himself trapped between Aomine's strong body and the fridge. There was no escape.

"It took you five minutes to find the milk carton that was right in the front?!" Aomine softly said, smirking.

Kagami blushed up to his ears and panicked. Now what!? He needed to come up with some excuse.

"Yeah, well I remember placing it at the bottom of the shelf. I guess I was wrong, I'm tired anyway."

Aomine skeptically looked at the flushed face in front of him "If you say so." Then he moved away and went back to sit on the couch, proudly grinning, he was so satisfied he managed to make Kagami panic that way. He still couldn't chase the image of that delicious body away from his thoughts, though. He sighed.

"Damn that Bakagami."

Kagami stood still, dumbfounded, trying to process what had just happened. He left the carton on the kitchen counter, then he ran to his room to wear something _appropriate_.

The "experiment" was a total failure: it had backfired. Kagami had felt his rival's gaze on him, but it turned out to be just a defiant one, Aomine had taken the chance to challenge him even on _that. _Damn. Maybe he really had to give up. He put the underwear on, then he picked some grey sweatpants and a simple, black t-shirt. Finally dressed up, he went back to the living room and sat on the couch, next to his "precious" guest. He was expecting to find an awkward atmosphere, but, apparently, the blue-haired idiot didn't gave the matter much importance. _Great_. Now Kagami was sure his guest didn't find him interesting at all.

But it was time to talk about business.

"So, about the U.S.A. trip... Are your folks okay with the idea?"

Aomine, who was sprawled on the couch with his head on the armrest, sat up the normal way and answered.

"Yeah, they said I can go."

"That's great. Now, about the details: our flight is on Friday the 20th , at 11:10 a.m., so we'll arrive at Chicago at 8:55 in the morning, local time. We'll drop our luggage at my house and then we'll go visit the city. We'll spend the rest of the day together with my family, which, by the way, consists in my father, my mother (but I don't think she'll come with us since she's busy with work), and my stepbrother. He will take us to the camp on Saturday; the three-weeks period goes from the 21st of July to the 12th of August. Any questions?"

"What about the accommodation? Will we stay in separate rooms?"

"I still don't know about that, but my father mentioned reserving us the best comfort."

"Sounds good enough to me."

"Of course it does! It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Ahomine!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've already thanked you _enough_ for this opportunity."

"Not just a bastard, but a _stingy_ bastard."

"Tch!"

"It could be your new pick-up line or something, hahaha!" He laughed.

"Shut up, Bakagami!"

"By the way, on our first day in Chicago we could go visit the United Center, what do you think?"

"That would be awesome."

"I know right?!" Kagami gave his guest a full smile of excitement.

But Aomine was ready to change the subject to a _more_ urgent topic.

"Oi, Kagami"

"Hm?" The red-haired boy looked at him.

"About the thing Kise said this morning..."

Kagami's smile rapidly faded away. He looked down, clenching his fists. He had momentarily forgot about it, why was the idiot bringing it up again?

"Don't worry about it, I won't judge you guys. I was just surprised."

Aomine knew that was just an excuse, though. The same one he had used with Kise that morning.

"I just want to clear things up." He sighed. "Kise had organized a last-minute party at his house to celebrate our team's victory. Some of us found his parent's collection of liquors, though, and we started drinking for fun, just to experience the feeling of drinking alcohol. After five minutes we were all drunk, and Kise came to me and asked me to take him to his room, saying that he couldn't walk straight. We went inside and he started saying shit like some guys had said it felt good doing it with a guy and such, and he was curious so he started kissing me. I was too clouded by the alcohol to understand what was happening, and before I knew it, I had slept with him. We woke up the next morning behaving normally, like it never happened. There wasn't a deep meaning to it anyway."

Kagami listened closely the story that matched Murasakibara's version, trying to understand the blue-haired guy's point.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I just wanted to make it clear that we've never gone out together and such. We did it because we were fucking drunk and stupid. That's all."

Kagami didn't understand why Aomine was _explaining_ himself, but somehow hearing that from _him_ made him feel better about the whole problem.

"You're still seeing him on Thursday, though."

"He's still my friend, okay?!" The red-haired teen was surprised to hear such a term from the Aho-mine.

"Yeah but you chose _him_ over _our_ one-on-one." Kagami glared at the guy.

"If I didn't agree he would get mad and text me every hour just to annoy me. That guy's a real pain in the ass when he gets to it."

Kagami still wasn't convinced by that answer, but it wouldn't do him any good to think about the eventuality of those two going out together.

"If you say so."

"What?! You still don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that you still chose him over basketball. I thought _that _was your top priority"

"I already told you why!" Aomine was starting to get angry. How could Kagami still don't believe his words? He liked him, didn't he?!

"I know but-"

"Then what about YOU?"

"Huh?!" Kagami was confused, what about him? What did he do?

"I saw what you did after leaving the court, you had to meet with that emo guy. You took advantage of Kise's talk to leave our one-on-one and go to him!" Kagami's attitude was pissing him off.

"WHAT?! How do you know I met Tatsuya? And HE IS NOT AN EMO GUY." Aomine shouldn't have brought up what happened with his brother!

"He DOES have an emo haircut, though."

"No, he does NOT. So?! How do you know that? Where you following us?!"

"I'D NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Aomine got up from the couch, glaring at his rival. "I thought you were shocked from the sudden revelation so I thought about checking on you, but you were on the FUCKING bus with the FUCKING GUY!"

Kagami stopped thinking...wait, had Aomine worried about him? Really?!

"That was-"

"You chose HIM over OUR MATCH too! Don't just accuse me if you do the same thing!"

Kagami got up too, standing furiously in front of his also furious guest, looking at him with rage in his eyes.

"I'D _NEVER_ CHOOSE ANYONE OVER _OUR_ MATCHES! WE MET BY COINCIDENCE! HE WAS JUST PASSING BY!"

"HOW COULD HE BE _JUST_ _PASSING_ _BY_ IF HE LIVES IN FUCKING AKITA?! HE HAD A REASON TO COME TO TOKYO!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE-"

Kagami paused. Aomine didn't know about his brother and Murasakibara.

"AND YOU STILL WEAR THAT DAMN RING ALL THE TIME!"

"STOP SHOUTING! AND WHAT DOES IT MATTER THAT I WEAR IT?!"

Aomine laughed sarcastically. "Maybe you feel something MORE than _brotherly_ love for that emo guy, BAKAGAMI"

The red-haired teen walked back a few steps and looked at the other guy, _shocked_. "I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I FEEL, ASSHOLE! AND STOP CALLING HIM AN EMO GUY!"

"AND YOU STOP DEFENDING HIM SO MUCH! JUST ADMIT THE FACT THAT THE TWO OF YOU ARE MORE THAN BROTHERS AND YOU HAD A DATE TODAY!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"You can't hide it to me anymore, Kagami, it's fucking OBVIOUS." Aomine didn't know what had gotten into him, why the hell was he spouting that nonsense now? He already knew it wasn't true!

"You've gone insane, Aomine. The rain must have flooded your already small brain." Kagami said back. But what was the redhead doing?! That was _not_ the right way to make the guy fall for him! It was making things worse. But why the hell was Aomine saying all that crap about Tatsuya?! He just didn't get it.

"See? You're not even DENYING it anymore!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE SAYING SOME WEIRD CRAP!"

"JUST SAY YOU'RE DATING HIM!"

"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT! YOU'RE FUCKING STUPID AND NOW EVEN BLIND, BECAUSE IT WASN'T JUST ME AND HIM ON THE BUS! THERE WAS-" When Kagami realized what he had just said, he froze and brought his hands on his mouth. Shit. Silence broke inside the room.

"There was..?" Aomine inquired "Who was there?"

Kagami averted his gaze. "No one.."

"Kagami." Aomine grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes. It was hard to resist that voice calling him. But it was his fault for saying too much, he had to take responsibility. He would explain everything to Himuro as soon as possible. He sighed.

"I'll tell you, but _promise_ me it will be a secret just between the two of us. Please."

"So you're finally admitting that-"

"Aomine, please." Kagami looked into those deep blue eyes.

"_Fine_, I promise. Now-"

"Tatsuya and Murasakibara are dating"

"HAH! I KNEW IT! Wait...what?!"

Kagami looked away again.

"They had planned to visit the zoo today, but it was closed, so they thought about going for a walk or something, I don't know exactly. When I left the court we met and then we had lunch together at Maji's. After that, I left them to their date and ran home."

Aomine was listening to the story, dumbfounded. He would have never imagined something like that.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you. Now I have to apologize to Tatsuya, excuse me." Kagami went for calling his brother but he felt himself being grabbed by his wrist.

"Wait."

He turned around and saw Aomine passing his other hand through his navy-blue locks. His expression had softened. Kagami was mad at him for accusing him and talking shit about his brother, but he couldn't bring himself to hate him. He _loved_ him, after all.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what has happened to me. I didn't mean to mess up your relationship with that guy."

"It's okay, don't worry."

An awkward silence dominated the scene.

"So you're not dating him?" Aomine wanted to make sure of Kagami's feelings for him, and this was his chance to do that.

"Are you deaf too? Of course I'm not!"

"Then, do you like someone? I could...give you some advice or something."

Kagami looked at his guest. Why was the guy talking about something like that now? It was totally unrelated!

"...In exchange for messing things up between you and the emo guy"

Oh, so the guy wanted to save the situation like that? Smart move, Aomine...yeah, as if!

"I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah, _he's not an emo guy._"

Nevertheless, Kagami was too tired about the whole situation he just let things go their way.

"Yes"

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I have someone I like"

"Do I know them?"

"Yeah."

Aomine paused: was Kagami going to take that chance to _confess_ to him? Shit! He wasn't ready for that! He started beating around the bush.

"What are they like?"

"They're arrogant and stupid. And fucking dense. And I'm pretty sure they like someone else. [1] They most surely don't like _me_ anyway."

"How do you know that? Have you told them?"

"I just know it, okay?"

"Maybe you should try _showing _them your feelings before telling them. It could help your crush figure out how they feel about you."

"How can you be so sure _that_ will work? You don't even know who I'm talking about!"

"I have...a feel."

"You don't even know what it _feels_ like to _like_ someone, you just date girls to sleep with them."

"Hey! I don't do it _just_ for that reason!"

"Whatever." Kagami shrugged and sat on the couch again.

"It's been a tiring day, let's watch some TV." The red-haired teen grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, tuning to the national basketball channel. A new match was starting, but his brain was totally fused by now.

Aomine sat down next to him and kept quiet during the whole match. He had already said enough on that day.

After the match ended, they turned the TV off and just rested themselves there. None of them had anything left to say.

***RINGRINGRINGRING***

Kagami rolled his eyes in annoyance and got up to look for his phone.

***RINGRINGRINGRING***

When he found it, he looked at the screen: it was his father. Good thing Aomine was still there.

"Hi, dad"

"Hello, Taiga! What's up? You sound tired"

"That's because I am. Why did you call at this time? Aren't you busy with work?"

"I just wanted to tell you that Kaito will arrive tomorrow around lunchtime! It would be nice if you organized a small welcome party for him. And I heard Alex is in Japan too, so you could invite her as well."

Kagami rubbed his temples "Okay I will, do I have to invite my friends over, too?"

"Of course! It has to be a nice and warm welcome party! You haven't seen your step-brother for so long!"

"Yeah, right. Ok, dad: I'll hold a very nice party. By the way, about the NBA camp, I told my friend the details and he asked if we're going to stay in separate rooms."

"Oh. Well if I remember correctly, you're going to stay in an apartment, all to yourselves. I don't know if there are separate rooms for you to sleep in, though."

"Ok, nevermind." Kagami smiled "It was nice hearing from you." Talking to his father always seemed to calm him, somehow.

"Same here. By, Taiga. See you in a few days!"

"Bye!"

So he had to organize a welcome party for his stepbrother. Another business to take care of. Great.

He walked back to the couch and looked at his guest.

"Oi, Aomine, it was my father on the phone. He said that we're going to have an apartment to ourselves but he doesn't know about the sleeping accommodation."

"Sounds nice."

"It sure does."

"What else did he say?" Aomine was trying to be talkative, for once.

"He said my stepbrother is coming to Japan to see me"

"Wait, _whose_ stepbrother?!"

"Mine, you idiot. I already told you when we talked about the details of the whole thing! Where you even paying attention?!"

"Yeah but...wasn't the emo guy your only "brother"?"

"Kaito is my father's ex wife's son. He took him in when she died, a few years ago. At that time, I had already met Tatsuya, who is not an emo guy by the way."

"So he started living with his father and _your_ mother, and you_?" _

_"_Yes. And he's 23."

"Cool. Do you get along?"

"Yeah, we're on good terms. It was awkward at first, having a new member in our family, but he's a great guy. Even if we rarely see each other, we always keep in touch through the internet."

"Since he's your brother he must be a Bakagami as well...poor guy."

Kagami glared at his guest. Then the blue-haired teen got up and grabbed his things, walking to the door.

"Well, I gotta go. See ya around, Kagami." Aomine gave him a soft smile. He was still feeling bad about forcing him to reveal the relationship between Murasakibara and the emo guy.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" Kagami asked. It was pretty late, anyway, almost eight o'clock in the evening.

"Nah, I'm good. My mother must be dead worried about me, I told her I was coming back for lunch"

"I feel sorry for her. It must be hard having a son like _you_."

"Shut up."

Kagami opened the door for him.

"See you, Aomine."

"Yeah."

The red-haired teen watched his rival leaving the house and closed the door. That had been a tiring day. He went to his room and let himself fall on the soft bed. Then he sent a text message to his brother, asking him to come over to celebrate Kaito's arrival the next day. He didn't even have the mental strength to stay awake and make plans about the party. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep.

* * *

When Aomine got home, he briefly greeted his parents and went straight to his room.

What the hell had gotten into him?!

First he found himself drooling at that juicy body of Kagami's. Then he started raving about nonsensical things, yelling at the guy, saying that he had a date with the emo guy. Damn that emo guy! Aomine still couldn't figure out why he despised the guy so much, but just his name would send him over the edge. He had _yelled_ at Kagami, and that couldn't be a good thing, especially because he knew the idiot was already shaken up by that morning's events. And on top of that, The redhead had said he thought Aomine liked someone else, so he still didn't believe what he told him about his past with Kise.

"What a fucking mess."

The blue-haired teen lied down on his bed and left his mind finally appeasing.

* * *

When Kagami woke up at 9 in the morning, he was sweating. He had dreamed about the idiot, and it hadn't been a normal dream.

*It had started with the same scene of the previous day, the two of them were arguing and shouting, then the blue-haired boy grabbed him by the waist, looking into his eyes like he was asking for permission. Then the setting changed. They were in Kagami's bedroom, on the bed, grinding against each other, and Aomine let his hands run inside the redhead's t-shirt, carefully touching every inch of that inviting skin. Kagami felt his rival's hands on his sensitive chest and started exhaling soft moans when the blue-haired guy began teasing his nipples. He found himself wrapping his arms around the tan, tensing back, with his fingertips, he traced Aomine's defined shoulder blades, breathing in the nook of his neck, while the other man started licking _his_ neck, from the chin to the earlobe, and then to the collarbones, where he stopped to suck hard. Kagami felt himself melting under those sexy ministrations. Then Aomine started undressing him, throwing every piece of clothing to the floor, casually. Kagami looked at the rival and shivered, finding that predatory gaze in the man's eyes, Aomine was looking at his naked body like he wanted to devour him. His guest leaned closer to him once again, pulling him up by the chin and planting a hot kiss on his lips, their tongues jostled wildly, snatching sweet moans from the redhead's mouth and deep groans from the tan man's. Kagami felt so hot he thought he was on fire. Then the blue-haired man broke the kiss and leaned close to Kagami's ear "...Taiga"...*

Kagami had woken up after hearing that deep, husky voice calling his name, just to find himself a wet mess. That wasn't the first wet dream about the guy, but damn, it felt so _real_. He was still flushed by the memories of that tan body over his, those wild kisses, that dreamy voice.

"Fuck."

He decided to pull himself together: he had to be ready for that morning's practice. He washed his messy underwear and took a cold shower, trying to cool himself down after that hot dream, then made some breakfast, trying not to remember that husky voice calling his name_ so_ seductively.

The red-haired teen arrived at the school gym on time, just to find everyone talking about the previous day's downpour.

"...and after a second it was pouring! I got totally wet and my cat started running like crazy around the garden because he couldn't find the door! That was priceless!" Kyoshi laughed and so did the other teammates.

"Yo, guys." They turned around hearing the redhead's voice.

Good morning, Kagami."

"Hi, Kagami-kun."

"Oh, Kuroko, how are you feeling?"

"I'm totally fine, now. Thanks, Kagami-kun"

"You're wel-"

"GUYS! ENOUGH WITH THE CHITCHATS ALREADY! LET'S START TRAINING, WE HAVE A REPUTATION TO KEEP!" Riko was whistling like there was no tomorrow.

Practice was as hard as ever. Riko had decided to increase the exercises to warm-up and stretch properly, saying it would improve their performances. They went on with those until lunchtime. Then, during the break, which lasted 20 minutes, Kagami got closer to the coach to tell her the latest news: he was leaving for three weeks. And he was ready to receive his punishment from the demon lady.

"Is that so, Kagami?"

"Yes, I will practice there, though."

Riko thought about it: it was an NBA training session, after all. He wasn't going on a leisurely vacation.

"Ok, it's fine."

"Really?!"

"Just make sure to practice everyday, and don't slack off!" She smiled sadistically.

"Got it...AH! I almost forgot!" He looked at his teammates "Guys, I'm holding a party at my house to welcome my stepbrother that's coming to Japan from the U.S.A., do you want to come over? We will have to stop at the supermarket to buy some things, though. And since in two days I'm leaving to go to Chicago..."

"Chicago?!" Furihata asked.

"How long will you stay away?" Hyuuga inquired.

"YOU HAVE A STEPBROTHER?!" Izuki exclaimed.

"It's a long story, but I'm going to an NBA training camp with..." He looked away, awkwardly. "Aomine."

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" Everyone was taken by surprise. Well everyone except Kuroko, who had expected that.

"It can be a goodbye party before you leave, Kagami-kun. We're coming with you after practice." Kagami smiled at his shadow.

After lunch break, their usual practice began, with free throws, jumps, dunks and one-on-ones. Kagami was finally clearing his mind from the latest incidents, focusing solely on his basketball. He made sure to give his all throughout the training session, and to sync with Kuroko to the maximum. When practice was over, they all went straight to the locker room and took a shower to make themselves presentable for the welcome party. Once they were finally ready, they started walking towards the convenience store, that had a supermarket on the side.

* * *

Aomine was woken up by a phone call. Satsuki's call. He refused to answer the annoying girl, but the phone kept ringing non-stop. He let his hand fall heavily on the nightstand to grab the demonic device.

"What?"

"You don't even wish me a good morning anymore, Dai-chan?" Satsuki sounded as cheerful as ever.

"I was sleeping, it's fucking summer break!"

"And it's also 01:00 in the evening! How can you sleep that much?"

"Shut up, Satsuki"

"By the way, we'll go making some shopping together today! Your mother called me saying that you're leaving for America. Why didn't you tell me?"

"What's with you guys wanting to go shopping with me?! I'm not a fucking human-bag-holder!"

"Dai-chan! You know I'll miss you... Let's meet at 15:00 in front of my house, see you!"

"Wait, Sats-"

"..."

"Damn, she got me."

He lazily got up, not caring about leaving the room a total mess while looking for something to wear.

Once he arrived at Momoi's house, he knew that would be another stressful day, she greeted him and then the crusade started. The girl forced him to visit every clothing store in the city center, and Aomine was getting pretty annoyed and bored of waiting on the shops' couches while the childhood friend tried all kinds of clothes on.

"Does this dress suit me, Dai-chan?"

He didn't even look at her.

"Yeah it looks nice, you should take it."

"Dai-chan!" She pouted. "You didn't even look at it!"

The guy simply snorted back."Whatever"

After visiting at least fifteen different stores, Aomine was totally worn out. He had enough stamina to face that Bakagami on the court for three or even for hours straight, but shopping killed him. Plus, he was holding about eight huge shopping bags full of clothes. He couldn't even see his feet anymore.

"Now let's-"

"What? Again with the shopping?! I'm fucking tired, Satsuki!" Aomine snorted once again.

"I just have to buy some ingredients, I want to bake a cake for Tetsu-kun" She blushed. Her childhood friend shivered, though: nothing good would come out of Satsuki's cooking. Poor Tetsu.

They walked towards the closest supermarket, that was the one in front of the court he and Kagami used to play in. Aomine made his way through the shelves, following the pink-haired girl that was now giggling, probably thinking about her crush. When they arrived at the area that sold fresh meat, he noticed some fresh burgers and his thoughts went to a certain rival of his, Kagami used to cook him Teriyaki burgers whenever he invited himself over, knowing he loved them. He suddenly remembered the furious argument he had with the rival and scowled.

"That Bakagami..."

"Do you have any business with me?"

Aomine didn't recognize the voice who had talked back. He turned around and saw a very tall man, almost as tall as the purple giant. He was young, probably in his twenties, and had short, dark brown hair and beautiful teal eyes. An undoubtedly handsome man. Momoi turned around, not seeing her friend behind her anymore and was struck by the stranger's deep stare. After just a few seconds, she found herself blushing.

"No, I can't...TETSU-KUN IS THE ONLY ONE FOR ME!" She squealed, and then she turned around, disappearing behind the countless shelves.

Aomine looked at the girl getting away, not understanding her problem. But the same, deep voice he had just heard talked again.

"I'm sorry, I thought you just called my last name" The man had a weird accent, he was probably a foreigner. Aomine was about to answer when he looked at the stranger and noticed a unique feature he knew very well. _Those_ split eyebrows... Who the hell was that guy?

"Ah, no, I was talking about-"

"Aomine?!" Kagami called him behind his back. The blue-haired teen turned around to see the guy, he was together with his teammates, Tetsu as well.

"Kag-"

"TAIGA!" The handsome stranger threw himself at the red-haired boy, hugging him. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Kagami could't breath from the tight embrace.

"Kaito?! what-? -" The man distanced himself a bit and placed one hand on the redhead's nape, the other one on the boy's chin. Then he started to get closer again, lowering his face. "Wait! Don't-"

Everyone froze. Aomine widened his eyes, shocked.

The handsome stranger was making out with Kagami. _Whaaaaaaaat?!_

* * *

[1] that sounded like "Prepare for trouble" "And make it double" LOL

* * *

**IT'S CLIFFHANGER TIME! But don't worry, the next chapter will be soon uploaded! **

**If you want to have a better picture of Kaito's handsomeness, just take Sousuke Yamazaki from _Free! _and add split eyebrows...STILL DAMN HOT, RIGHT?! *q* **

**Anyway, my **_most heartfelt thanks to all those of you who reviewed_**! I'm glad you're enjoying the story :3 . NOW: ****I'm thinking about changing the rating of this fic. In a few chapters **_spicy_** things will happen, but lately I've been thinking about making them even **_spicier, _**(if you know what I mean *winks*) In that case, this will become an M rated fanfiction****, obviously. What do you think? Please let me know with reviews/PMs.**

**Also, if you liked this chapter you can add Chained Chance to your favs/follows or leave a review to let me know what you think of it!**

MORE TO COME!** The party will cause many _funny_ things to happen, and _feelings_ will be confessed to the world! Will the Ahomine finally give in to Kagami's attempts? What is the _actual_ relationship between Kaito and Taiga? Will (the emo guy) Himuro**** get med at his brother for telling his secret? Will Kuroko die of poisoning, eating Momoi's cake? **

**FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! "IN VINO VERITAS".**

Thanks** again for reading this fic! and **_THIS SECTION!_***hugs***

cya!

( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-


	5. Ch4

**Hello everyone! I'm really sorry for the late update! The chapter was ready the day before yesterday but my mother went on a rampage and broke our wifi router... (WHAT THE HELL) I managed to get a new one today, so here it is! :D **

**As always, thanks to all those of you who reviewed/followed/favorited this story and thanks for enjoying it! Your reviews make my day brighter every time! **

**The title is a latin sentence that means that "in wine there's truth/ truth is in wine..." (you got the meaning already hahaha). Since they get kinda drunk this chapter will have FLUFF and OOC.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kuroko No Basket nor its characters.

**Please enjoy :D**

* * *

CHAPTER 4: **IN VINO VERITAS**

TIME: 18:23 DAY: 7/18/20XX

Kagami could feel everyone's eyes on him...great. He tried getting away from his stepbrother's grasp but with no avail, the man's tongue was still exploring his mouth, making him feel weak and jelly-llike...Kaito was a great kisser after all.

When the older man broke the kiss, the redhead pushed him away with his hand, making sure that he wouldn't get closer again.

"KAITO! I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT! Jeez, you're even worse than Alex, man..." he scrubbed his lips with his hand.

"Awww, come on, Taiga! We haven't seen each other for so long!"

"Still, that was totally unnecessary! You even used your tongue! WHAT THE HELL!"

"I just couldn't help myself" Kaito placed his hand on his own chest, right on Kagami's "Since my little brother has gotten so cute.."

"What part of me would be cute, _exactly_?!"

"Well-"

"Uhm, excuse me..."

The two brothers turned around to see Riko trying to finish her sentence. She was as red as Kagami's hair, and suddenly, the teen came back to reality.

His teammates were there. Aomine was there. They had seen him making out with a stranger. Then again, Aomine was there, Aomine had called him, Aomine had witnessed the scene. _Crap_. He looked at the improvised "audience" in front of him, that was blushing like crazy and looking at him with their eyeballs almost popping out of the sockets. His rival looked more pissed-off than shocked, though.

"Uhm...well, this is-"

"Hello there, I'm Kagami Kaito, Taiga's stepbrother. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, you must be Taiga's teammates."

Everyone looked at him, then at Kagami, then at Kaito again. They didn't seem to understand, though, if anything they looked even more shocked.

"DON'T MAKE WEIRD ASSUMPTIONS, GUYS!" Kagami reacted, trying to explain there was nothing incest-related going on there "What happened just now was an _unfortunate accident_ like the ones that usually happen with Alex...if you know what I mean. It will NOT happen again." He glared at Kaito, who smiled innocently.

The other guys exhaled a breath.

"So it's just that greeting-kind-of-thing your American _acquaintances_ do all the time?" Riko asked.

"Yeah, that _unrequested_ and _uncalled-for_ thing. Anyway Kaito, since we're here let me quickly introduce these guys to you. Here are my teammates, and she's our coach, Riko. You'll get to know everyone at the party, anyway." The team smiled and bowed.

"Nice to meet you too" Kaito showed them a kind and relaxed smile. "Then again, what party are you talking about, Taiga?" He looked at the redhead.

"We're throwing you a welcome party tonight, we got here to buy some ingredients in the first place."

"REALLY?! YOU'RE THE BEST, TAIGA!" He cheerfully exclaimed, then he hugged the redhead again.

"Yeah, yeah..." Kagami gave up on resisting him, Kaito behaved like a kid sometimes, but he knew very well that naïve facade hid a very mature man that truly missed him. And he missed him back.

"Who's invited?"

"The team, plus Tatsuya and Alex."

"Whaaaaah, Tatsuya too? That's great!" Taiga smiled at him, but the thought of having to talk with Himuro about the latest events made him shiver.

"Wait, what about this guy and the girl?" Kaito asked, looking at two, long forgotten, people behind him.

Taiga froze. Wait...how could he even forget Aomine was there! _Shit!_ He was too busy explaining the details of the party that he didn't even realize the idiot and his childhood friend were still there!

"Uhm he's Aomine Daiki, my...rival, and she's his friend, Momoi Satsuki. They're froom Touou Academy." Kagami tried not to sound too awkward.

"Hm, so he's the Aomine guy, huh?" Kaito looked at the blue-haired person in front of him, scanning him from head to toe, then he stared into the teen's blue eyes.

Aomine stared back fiercely, he didn't like the man at all. Those teal eyes were almost as annoying as the emo-guy's, and if that was the guy he was supposed to spend some part of the trip with, it sure didn't sound very inviting. Plus, there was the fact that Kagami didn't break the kiss, and even if _that_ _person_ was a family member, it wasn't normal to make out with the man. Something about that whole situation bothered him, especially because he had a fight with Kagami the previous day. Especially because apparently the redhead was holding a party and he wasn't invited, while everyone else was.

The two of them kept glaring at each other for a full minute, while Kagami, his teammates and Momoi were looking at the scene, confused. Then Kaito broke the eye-contact and looked at Taiga again, smiling.

"Why don't we invite them as well?"

Kagami was taken by surprise by the suggestion, but it was too late to let them go away and act like nothing had happened. Plus, Aomine needed to get along with his stepbrother since they were leaving in two days and Kaito would be there on the trip too.

"It's fine with me, two more people don't make a huge difference anyway." It did, though, because Aomine was there, and after _that_ fight and _that_ dream, things between them were nothing but _awkward_.

"Then it's decided!" Momoi walked next to Kuroko and hugged the boy's arm. "Let's go along, Dai-chan!"

"Whatever..." Of couse he was going, Kagami's homemade cooking was always the best, and it was the perfect chance to make things up.

"Ok then!" Hyuuga spoke first. "Let's split up and gather some ingredients. What are you going to cook, Kagami?"

"I was thinking about some steak with a side of mixed vegetables, and for dessert we could-"

"Please, leave that to me!" Momoi almost screamed out of excitement, raising the arm that was not around Kuroko's. "I came here to buy ingredients to bake a cake, anyway!"

Everyone paled. Aomine shivered at the thought of even _seeing_ something cooked by her.

"Then I'll help too!" Riko suggested, not giving in to the girl. "I'm super good at cooking, right guys?"

"Uhm...girls, since this is Kagami's party why don't you leave everything to him?" Quivering, Koganei tried to save the situation and make sure that no one would die that night.

"That's...uhm...right! I'll do it, don't worry about it, just enjoy the party." Kagami suggested, smiling awkwardly.

"Come on, boys!" Kaito interfered "These two ladies offered themselves to bake a delicious cake together, how can you refuse such a luck? Please, girls, make sure to put all your love into your baking tonight." He brightly smiled.

"OF COURSE!" Riko and Momoi cheered with sparks in their eyes.

"Great, now let's split up to gather all the necessary. Taiga, you can go with Aomine, since he doesn't look like he's an expert in choosing meat; the team can go picking the veggies, Riko and the pink-haired lady here will take care of the dessert, and I'll take care of the drinks. I'll pay for the drinks myself, Taiga will pay for the rest."

Everyone was already suffering from the thought of the poisonous cake, but they did as Kaito told them. Aomine let Kagami choose everything, thus the situation didn't end up being too awkward between them. They reunited with everyone to pay, then they left the shop.

* * *

As they arrived at Kagami's house, the redhead started emptying the bags to start cooking, with Kaito helping him, whereas the others made themselves comfortable in the living room.

"Wow, Kagamin! Your home is so nice!" Satsuki complimented, looking at the spacious living room and the minimal forniture.

"I know, right!" Izuki agreed.

"I still have to take a good look at it, but it looks good enough for you, Taiga, even if it's much smaller than our house in the US." Kaito said, placing the coke bottles inside the fridge.

"I like it as it is. It's spacious enough without being too huge." Then Kagami walked into the living room to set the table. Since there were so many of them, he prepared the lower table, so that they would just sit on the mat. Then he went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

"This is my chance" Kaito whispered, then he grabbed a shopping bag that he had kept to himself and opened the refrigerator. "Sorry, Taiga, I'll give this party a _nice_ _twist_."

After a while, most of them were slacking off, waiting for Kagami to finish cooking. Aomine was yawning, sprawled on the couch next to Kuroko, who sat on the very edge, listening to Momoi's excited talking.

Seirin's members were on the floor, watching some TV and discussing about the latest national matches. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Kaito, can you get it?"

"Sure!"

The tall man opened the door and saw some familiar faces.

"Tatsuya! How are you doing?" He high-fived the teen and smiled at him. "I'm great, thanks, Kaito. It's good to see you."

"Yo, Kaito! What's up?" Alex greeted him in English

"I'm just hyped up for the party, you know, I brought some _fun _along_"_

"You do know they're still underage, right?"

"That makes it even more interesting" He smirked.

"I know, right!" Alex smirked back, then she walked in. "TAIGAAAAA!"

"Welcome, guys, I'm cooking so make yourself comfortable anywhere you like. And Alex, please _don't_." He turned around and stopped the incoming kiss just on time, placing his hand against his teacher's face.

"Mfh-!" She pouted. "If you don't want to kiss me, I'll kiss someone else!"

"Whatever... just don't distract me while I'm cooking, ok?"

"RIKO-CHAAAAN! YOU'RE HERE TOO!"

Riko shuddered hearing the woman calling his name, but it was too late. The blond girl was already planting a kiss on her lips.

"Stop it, you!" She got away, blushing and glaring at her. Alex simply smiled back.

Himuro approached the kitchen counter "Good evening, Taiga"

"Hi, Tatsuya, I hope you remember what I told you yesterday..." They needed to talk.

"I do."

"Then it's fine. Just take a seat, I'm almost done."

Aomine feigned disinterest but his ears were working better that a dog's. The hot chick and the _emo-guy_ had arrived, _great_, and on top of that Kagami had talked to him the previous day... Could it be that the redhead told him about their fight? If so, he was in an awkward position, knowing about the guy and Murasakibara's relationship. What a damn mess. He sighed.

"Oi, Kagami, is food ready yet?"

"If it was ready I would be serving it already, wouldn't I ?!"

"I'm fucking starving here!"

"Everyone is, they just don't bother me about it all the time, idiot."

"Tch!"

"Dai-chan! Don't be rude, Kagamin is cooking for all of us! Do you need any help, Kagamin?"

"No, thanks. Just make that idiot shut up, he's distracting me."

"Who's the idiot, _Bakagami _?!"

"Hahahah, what's with that nickname?!" Kaito laughed "It's so smart! It's like a Japanese pun!"

"I know, right!" Izuki got excited just by hearing that magical word.

"Save your puns for later, Izuki. By the way, Kagami, are you sure you're fine on your own? Isn't there something we can do?" Hyuuga asked.

"Don't worry guys, the meat's ready, I'm just arranging the vegetables. Actually, could you come get the plates?"

"I'll help, Kagami-kun." Kuroko got up and walked to his light.

"Ah? Wait, who are you? I didn't see you there" Kaito looked at the short boy. "Wait, could you be Kuroko?"

"I am, Kagami-san"

"Just call me Kaito" He smiled "Taiga has told me a lot about you, even the fact that you often scare him by suddenly appearing by his side" he smiled. "You're a great player, having your own basketball style, keep it up!" Kaito grinned and ruffled Kuroko's hair. The pale teen softly smiled and thanked him, then he went to help the redhead.

The food looked delicious, and everyone enjoyed their meal.

"Kagamiii this is soo good!" Furihata was almost crying tears of joy.

"Yes, Kagami, thanks for being this good at cooking" Kyoshi agreed.

"Maybe I could do this too sometimes, Kagami would you show me how to-"

"NO!" A common answer shut Riko up.

"You guys are so damn mean! I'll make practice even harder!" She pouted.

"It would still be better than eating your cooking, Riko-san" Kuroko whispered.

"What? I couldn't hear you"

"Nothing..."

"Well, Kagamin, thanks for the tasty meal, but now it's our time to shine! Let's go Riko-chan!"

"YEAH! We'll show you how it's done! Our cake will be the best thing you've ever eaten!"

Saying that, the girls went to the kitchen to prepare the dessert.

"Hey, are you sure those two know what they're doing?" Alex inquired.

"I think they have given up in stopping them, just make sure not to eat the cake, Alex" Himuro replied, looking at his discouraged friends.

"Doesn't it take a lot to bake a cake, though?" Mitobe asked.

Momoi heard him an explained her intentions "We're making a special one! It doesn't need to stay in the oven for too much!"

"Haha...that's great..I guess" The realization that they would soon taste hell suddenly struck him.

"Kagami-kun, can you explain yours and Kaito-san's relationship? I thought you were an only child."

"Yeah, me too!" Izuki stated.

"Sure, well he's my father's first son, but he and his wife divorced. He used to live with his mother until some years ago, then-"

"Then my mother died, and I had to move in with my father, who had married another woman and built a new family, with a new child. It was a shock at first, not only was I left alone without her, but my father had remarried and I was going to live with his new family. He's an amazing man, though, he never made me feel like I was useless or unwanted, instead he immediately accepted me, and so did Taiga and his mother. We're a great family now."

"What are Kagami's parents like?" Aomine asked, now interested in the conversation.

"Oh, right, you're gonna meet them soon, aren't you. Well, his mother, Kim, is American. She's a beautiful woman with red hair and red eyes, but she's always busy with work, so I hardly see her at home. Even so, she's very loving and affectionate towards her family. Our father, Kagami Reo, is from Japan. We got our split eyebrows from him, and his hair is the same color as mine, but his eyes are brown. He's busy with work as well, but not as much as his wife."

"So Kagami-kun looks like his mother?"

"Yup"

"Ok, thanks, Kaito-san"

"You're welcome, Kuroko."

"GUYSSS! THE CAKE IS READY!" Momoi announced enthusiastically.

"What?! Are you sure? It's been just five minutes!" Kagami said, skeptically.

"We followed the recipe, so it's READY."

Kagami gave up and sighed. "Fine, bring it here"

Riko placed the cake on the table. It looked like a melted mountain. Some parts were burnt and the center was still oddly creamy. Its color reminded of mud.

"Are you sure it's edible?" Alex asked.

"Of course it's not!" Aomine explained. "It's fucking gross! It looks like shit, literally!"

"It doesn't really look like a cake..." Kuroko added.

"Tetsu-kun! How can you say that?! I baked it for you!"

"..."

"Tetsu-kun!" She cried out.

Kaito tried to reassure them. "Come on, everyone! It may be ugly, but nothing bad can come out of a maiden's heart. I bet it tastes good."

"No, it doesn't." Kagami stated.

"Mhmh...I have an idea! But first, let's clean the table and leave just the cake and a knife on it!"

"I'm scared of your ideas, izuki" Hyuuga revealed.

"Hehehe."

They started taking the plates and the glasses away. Once everything was cleaned up, the black-haired teen voiced his idea. "Let's play truth or dare!"

Aomine yawned "How is that a good idea?"

"Because you're forced to do what they ask, or else..." He pointed at the cake "You will have to eat _that_!"

"WHAAT?! Are you crazy, Izuki?!" His teammates didn't agree with the idea. But Kaito didn't think of it that way.

"I think it'll be fun, let's do it!"

"Are you really okay with this, Kaito?" Kagami asked.

"Sure!"

"Then I guess there's no helping it" Momoi added.

"At least someone will eat it" Riko agreed.

They arranged their positions in order to distance themselves equally from one another, then Kagami grabbed an empty bottle of water and placed it on the table, moving the cake to the side.

"It's better to do it randomly. Kaito, you start, spin it."

"What an honor!" The bottle spun for a few seconds, then it stopped in front of Kuroko.

"Truth."

"Hmmm, I have to ask something that will make him eat it...but let's get to it gradually. So, Kuroko, do you like anyone?"

"...Yes."

Everyone looked at him.

"Whaaat? Really?! Who are they, Kuroko?"

"Are they from our school?"

"Spill it, Tetsu"

"I'm sorry, everyone, I already answered the question."

He spun the bottle and it stopped in front of Kyoshi.

"I choose truth."

"Do _you_ like anyone?"

"I do."

Everyone was surprised again, but they knew the only way to have answers was through the game.

The bottle stopped in front of Alex.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!"

"Mhhhh..." He thought about it "Let Furihata touch your boobs for five seconds." He smirked.

"WHAAAT?!" The guy blushed furiously, but the blond girl wasn't going to eat the cake.

"Fine."

"W-Wha-" She got up and approached the blushing teen, then she placed his hands on her breasts.

"You have five seconds, boy." She winked. Furihata could feel that soft flesh under his palm, his heart throbbing in his chest. He gave an experimental squeeze and then his primal instinct won him over. In those five seconds he made sure to grope every centimeter of skin he was allowed to reach, under everyone's flushed gaze.

"Time's up!" Kyoshi announced, and Furihata went back to his seat, his face still red. Everyone was looking at the ground, flushed.

"Damn I didn't think it was gonna take _this_ turn, after all we can't do this sober, can we?" Kaito said, then he walked to the refrigerator and came back with some shady cans.

"Kaito! Are those beers?!" Kagami inquired. "We're underage, you know?"

"Come on, Taiga! We're just having fun! It will be easier to do the dares this way" He placed a can in front of each of them. "Cheers!" He opened his and started drinking the content. In a few sips, he emptied the can. "You have to drink all of it". Everyone opened their can and started drinking, it was an exciting match of Truth or Dare and _that_ would make it even better, they knew it. After they were finished, Alex grabbed the bottle.

"My turn!"

The item started spinning and it stopped in front of Kagami. The redhead shivered. _Hell no. _That woman was the devil in these situations.

"Taigaaa~! Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Still not that brave enough, huh? Well, is the one you like in this room?"

_What the hell?! Did she know?! _He was done for. If he said yes, that would mean Riko and Momoi would be suspected, _or _everyone would realize that he was actually gay, like Murasakibara did. If he said no, every chance he had of confessing to Aomine would vanish. _Shit! _The best chance was the cake, after all. But if he chose to eat the cake, that would mean he didn't want to answer, therefore the answer could only be "yes", because if it was "no". There wouldn't be any problems..._Fuck._

"Taiga?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"The answer is yes."

Once again, anyone looked surprised, even more than before since the said person was one of them. Now they would know he was gay. _Great_.

Aomine wasn't surprised, though. If anything, he had predicted this, Kagami didn't have much choice anyway, but the fact that Himuro was _also_ in the room made him doubt his theory.

Kagami spun the bottle and, after a while, it stopped. It stopped in front of his rival.

The redhead knew what he wanted to ask.

But Aomine knew it as well.

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

Kagami hadn't predicted this outcome, but he chose to have fun for once.

"Admit that you're an idiot in front of everyone. Oh and also say thanks for all the good times we spent together and that you're sorry for being an ass" He smirked

"You bastard! I'm not gonna say that!"

"Want to eat this deliciousness?" Kagami pointed at the poisonous thing.

"Damn..."

"I'm waiting"

"OKAY! FINE! I'm an idiot, thanks or all the good times we spent together and sorry for being an ass." Even though he said that with a bored tone, Kagami was still satisfied.

"I recorded that" Kuroko was holding his cellphone.

"FUCK YOU, TETSU!"

Kuroko shrugged, then suddenly, he fell on the table, losing his consciousness.

"KUROKO!" Hyuuga tried to help him but he felt so dizzy he couldn't get up "What the...Teppei! Help me!"

"Hm?"

Seirin's captain hugged his number 7, but instead of bringing him up, he planted a full kiss on his lips. The guy reacted by grabbing his captain's head and pulling him closer, increasing the contact. "Junpei, you're so needy tonight, are you drunk?" He caressed his neck "May...be". Hyuuga kissed him again.

Riko looked at the scene totally flabbergasted, but she was starting to feel the beer working on her brain. "You guys! Stop doing thaaaat!" She pointed her finger at them. "At least count me in!" Riko got closer to the kissing duo and started licking Kyoshi's neck. The guy grabbed her and broke the kiss with Hyuuga to switch his attention on her.

"Wait...what?!" Koganei was looking at them, blushing, but he suddenly felt so weak he reached the couch and passed out. Mitobe was already sleeping on the floor with the others.

"Kaito! What's happening?!" Himuro asked.

"Maybe that beer was a bit too _strong_ for them"

"WHAHAHAHAAH! Kaito you sly bastard!" Alex smacked his back.

"Hey! That hurts! I'm doing this for Taiga, you know?!"

"Suuuuure!"

"Tatsuya, why are you not drunk yet?"

"Sometimes I drink alcohol with my roommate, I can handle much more than just a can of beer"

"I see. So, does Taiga have playing cards? Let's play poker"

"I know where they are" Himuro got up to get the cards.

"Heyyy everyone! What's with youuu! Dai-chan!"

"What?"

"Don't you feel dizzy? Hahahahah I feel dizzy! Dizzy dizzy!"

"I can handle alcohol, Satsuki. Just find a nice place and sleep."

"Hahahhaa sleeeep! Dizzy!" She ran around the room and then fell on the couch.

"Jeez..." It would be a very weird morning to wake up to. And Satsuki would probably get mad at him for not making her sleep next to her beloved Tetsu-kun.

"AHOMINE!"

Kaito whispered to Alex "Here it comes...just watch."

"Huh?! You too can't handle a can of beer? You're so weak Bakagami!"

"SHUT UP! I'M SOBER!"

"Sure."

Kagami sat down next to his rival and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, then he talked in a soft and relaxed voice.

"Come with me, we need to talk."

"Talk?! About what? You don't even know what you're saying!"

"Just come." The redhead got up and made Aomine follow him to his room.

* * *

Once they entered, Kagami pushed the idiot to the wall beside the door and they both fell to the ground. Aomine's back was against the wall and Kagami was sat on his lap, with his legs on both sides of his rival's.

Then Kagami looked at the ground, hiding his look. His breath was now even, and the pace of the moment slowed down. It was like time had stopped going, and it was just the two of them.

Their voices were almost a silence, soft, whispered.

"I...I-"

Aomine kept silent.

"...truth or dare?"

He smiled "Hey, wasn't it my turn?"

"Just answer"

"...truth"

"Do you like Kise?"

"What? Again with this thing?"

"I know you do, you don't have to hide it..."

"What makes you think I do?" He raised an eyebrow.

"How can you not? He's perfect!"

Aomine looked away. "Maybe we have a different idea of perfection"

"He's handsome, cheerful, nice, a great person, and he's good at basketball"

"So what?"

"So you like him!"

Aomine sighed and then looked at his rival. "...And what if I do?"

"...What?!" Kagami looked at him in the eyes and Aomine felt himself melting in front of that teary gaze.

"I said what if I do?" He patiently waited for the answer.

"...Then...I...I don't know..." He averted his gaze.

"...And what if I don't?"

"..Then I would...tell you..." Kagami was stuttering.

"Tell me what?"

"...How I feel...about you.."

"Then tell me, since I don't like him." Aomine made sure to keep his cool and not to rush things. It was an important moment.

"But how can you not like him? He's-"

"_handsome, cheerful_, blah blah blah. He might be, but I don't like him, he's just a friend." Since the redhead was drunk, Aomine felt like he could even tell him something more private. The guy had spilled about Himuro anyway. "and he's going out with someone."

"...Really?" Kagami showed his puppy eyes again.

"Yeah, really."

Kagami was skeptical "...is that you?"

"What?! Of course not! I already told you he's just a friend!"

"...yet you slept with him"

"it was just-"

"your _first_ time..." Kagami lowered his gaze and sighed. He could feel a tear running down his cheek.

"Hey"

"What?"

"Look at me."

"... I don't want to."

"Kagami, look at me."

He looked at him and Aomine grabbed his cheeks. "I said I don't like him, ok?! And stop worrying over that thing already! It's not important to me."

"...but-"

"I said it doesn't matter."

"...Okay." Aomine released his rival's face.

"Kagami, truth or dare?"

"...Truth!"

It was his chance. "tell me how you feel about me."

"...I-" He blushed.

"You?"

"I like...you.. very...much"

"How much?"

"I said very much!"

Aomine smiled. "Then what about the emo-guy?"

"Tatsuya is my brother...only that..."

"And your stepbrother?"

"...Kaito is kind, and nice, but he's family"

"I see."

Aomine placed one hand on Kagami's back and the other one on his nape, then he got him closer to himself, laying his rival's head on his shoulder.

"...What are you doing.." Kagami asked without wanting to get away from the embrace.

"Let's just stay like this for a while."

"..."

"..."

"..Aomine.."

"Hm?"

"...can you..grant me a wish?"

"Sure."

"...Just once,.."

"What?"

"Can I...kiss you?"

Aomine looked away "...Kagami-"

"I'm drunk anyway so I probably won't remember it! You can just pretend it never happened!"

_Sheesh, Bakagami, how could I ever pretend something like that didn't happen._

"...Fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah...just once"

"...Okay."

Kagami distanced himself from the other's shoulder and looked in his eyes with his dazed look. Then he placed his right hand on Aomine's cheek and his left one on his chest. He started to get closer, slowly, very slowly, to see any sign of uncertainty in the other's look. Finding none, he finally closed the gap between them, pressing their lips together, in a gentle kiss. Aomine's lips were soft and warm, it was a beautiful kiss.

"I love you" he looked at him.

"I know." "I've known for a while."

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"...How do you feel about me?"

Aomine averted his gaze for a second, then he looked at him again. "It's...complicated"

"why?"

"I feel something for you...no, actually I like you. I know I do... I'm just not sure my _like_ is as strong as your _like_"

"...Do you like Kise?"

"Wha-"

"I'm just kidding" he chuckled.

"Very funny" Aomine replied sarcastically.

"...Can I kiss you again?"

"Yeah"

Kagami kissed those warm lips again, then he started placing soft kisses on the man's neck, gently, slowly, lovingly. Aomine could feel all the redhead's affection for him, and those kind kisses felt like heaven. It was the first time he didn't want it to be wild and fierce. It was a new kind of kissing to him, it wasn't just foreplay, it was out of love. Kagami kissed his way to the man's cheek, just to end on his mouth again, when he pressed his final, desperate, probably last, kiss. Then he looked at his rival's face that was now slightly lighten up by the moon rays entering through the window.

"I'm sorry...it's just that, well, this will probably be our last one.."

Aomine looked at him.

"Taiga." Then he hugged the redhead and kissed his lips again, then his forehead, then his ear. Kagami let himself fall in a trance. The trance of that deep voice finally calling his name. The trance of his rival kissing him. Kagami looked at him.

"The next time I call you by your first name will be the time I have found my resolve"

"Okay..."

Then Kagami rested his head on his beloved's shoulder, and Aomine slid down, to lay on his side with the redhead still hugging him.

"You're tired..."

"I had practice today"

"I see..."

"Tomorrow...make sure not to do anything with him..."

Aomine softly smiled "He's not a problem. I told you he's dating someone"

"Who's that?"

"Kasamatsu."

"...Whaaaaat?!"

"Yeah"

"Wow, that was unexpected. It looked like they hated each other"

"Don't we look the same?"

"...Yeah" Kagami smiled.

"Just sleep, I know you want to"

"I don't, since I won't remember any of this once I wake up"

Aomine chucked and kissed his forehead "Bakagami"

"Ahomine.."

Kaito stood by the door to check everything was going on well, just to see them there, on the floor, sleeping next to each other.

"These idiots..." He smiled and walked away. "Hey Alex! Give me some nice card this time, I'm not going to lose!"

* * *

**Soooo what did you think of it? Kaito is so nice (yes he is)! **

**THANKS TO ALL THOSE OF YOU WHO SUGGESTED THE M RATING. I was kinda hoping for it anyway hehe ;) The rating will change in a couple of chapters (If you know what I mean...) **

**If you liked the story you can add it to your favs/follows or leave a review! **

**MORE TO COME! Kise is not a problem anymore...or is he? Everything's ready for the flight! USA we're coming!**

**see you in the next chapter! Thanks for reading the story!**

cya!

( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-


	6. Ch5

**Hello, everyone! Thanks for waiting all this time! T_T I'm deeply sorry about this EXTREMELY-late update, but I've been really busy studying for my finals that start on June. Sorry again. **

**As always, thank you for reviewing/favoriting/following Chained Chance! I'm always happy when I see you're enjoying the story :) it makes me want to keep it up forever! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own KnB or any of its characters.**

**ENJOY :D**

* * *

CHAPTER 5: **FAMILY**

_TIME: 10:40 DAY: 7/19/20XX_

Kagami woke up feeling a stinging pain on his back, and he immediately realized he had been sleeping on the floor.

"What the hell?" He looked around searching for hints that would make him understand the situation, but he found none. The redhead tried to stand up, placing a hand on the nearest wall to find support, but he was still affected by the dizziness of the previous night's party. With a slow pace, he managed to walk to the living room, where he saw a very singular scenario: his teammates were randomly sleeping on the floor, some of them were sprawled on the couch, and his coach was oddly placed between the team's captain and the no. 7. Kagami rubbed his temples and concluded that the weird sight was probably the consequence of something that happened the previous night, something that he still couldn't quite remember.

"Taiga! Good morning!" A black-haired teen greeted from the kitchen, making his dear friend turn around to see him.

"Tatsuya, what happened?"

Himuro answered with his usual pokerface "I guess the drinks were a little too strong for you guys"

"Drinks?! What drinks?"

"Oh you don't remember?"

Kagami focused on his brief, scrappy, memories from the previous night, but the only thing he remembered was the horrible cake the girls had baked...speaking of which.

"The cake! Did we eat that?" He looked at the table but, luckily, the abomination was still there. The redhead relaxed and sighed. At least he wouldn't have to go to the US with certain kind of stomach problems...

"By the way, what happened exactly?"

"It's a shame you forgot everything, Taiga. It was getting so good between the two of you! Hehehe..." Alex was now sitting on the very edge of the couch, the only space available in the room.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The woman offered him a twisted smile and faced the other way.

"Nothing, really. Don't mind me"

"Whatever... Wait!" Kagami looked around the room once again, hoping to find his stepbrother. "Where's Kaito?"

"Oh, he's deeply sorry but he had an early flight today. Looks like your father wanted him back as soon as possible." Alex was reading some basketball magazine she found who-knows-where. Her words left Kagami a bit sad, he wanted to spend some other time with the man, but they would see each other soon, so he decided not to be too bothered by it. He rested his elbows on the kitchen counter, wanting to make something to eat for everyone, but somehow he couldn't focus on what he needed to do. Alex was still reading, and Himuro was typing something on his phone, probably chatting with Murasakibara, but there was too much silence in the house...something, or _someone_ was still missing.

"WAIT!" The redhead suddenly noticed the lacking presence. "Where the hell is Aomine?!"

"Huh? Is he not around?" The blond woman asked. "Now that I think of it, when I woke up he wasn't here either."

"He left some time before Kaito did, I guess he had something to do; he mentioned having to go shopping..." Himuro eyed his brother, and Kagami got what the boy was implying: the date with Kise. Damn! He had totally forgotten about that! And there were so many questions he wanted to ask his rival, about Kise, about them.

"Hmmmhmm...Kagami-kun, good morning"

"Wha-! Kuroko! Stop doing that, geez!" The redhead scolded the pale guy. "And fix your bed hair, you look like a hedgehog"

"Mhhhkay"

A light groan grabbed their attention. "Hey everyone..." Riko had just woken up. Seeing the two players on both of her sides she stood up altogether, widening her eyes.

"WHA-! WHAT THE! Hyuuga! Kyoshi! WAKE UP IMMEDIATELY!"

The boys lazily opened their eyes and looked at her. The girl was showing them her demonic side, so they tried not to rile her up and got up from the floor. After a few seconds, though, they held their aching heads between their hands.

"Everything's spinning!" Kyoshi looked for a foothold and managed to find it resting his weight on the small table. All that ruckus woke up the few others that were still sleeping, and suddenly the house went from a deep silence to a noisy rumpus, with several people queuing in front of the bathroom and several others sprawled all over the place, or cleaning it.

"What about this? Shall we eat it for breakfast?" Momoi pointed at her precious cake.

"Why don't we leave it to Kagami? It will be our thanks for the party!" Izuki suggested.

Kagami, though, didn't like the idea at all. "No, thanks. I already have plenty of leftovers from yesterday's dinner. Why don't you take it with you, Momoi: you were the one to suggest it, after all."

"No way! I wanted to share it with someone! It's no fun eating a cake you baked on your own! If you guys don't want it, I'll share it with my Tetsu-kun, right?" The girl looked at the pale guy with her sparkly, pink eyes.

"...I don't feel like eating it right now, sorry, Momoi-san"

"Tetsu-kun!" She whined. "Okay then, I'll take it with me." And everyone thanked the heavens for that final sentence. After they ate some pancakes Kagami had cooked, everyone thanked him and left the house, leaving the redhead alone with his thoughts.

He couldn't take the idea of those two going out together out of his mind.

* * *

:::::::::::::

* * *

When Aomine woke up, it was 8 o'clock in the morning. He opened his eyes to a rare sight he would never forget: Kagami's sleeping face. The idiot was so peaceful, breathing evenly, with his chest softly raising on time, his crimson hair lightly hit by the sunlight filtered by the windows, that made that unusual color even brighter. His own arm was circling the redhead's waist, and he wished he didn't have to get up from that sight. The hardness of the floor, though, pressing on his back, reminded him that he needed to leave that moment of bliss and get ready for the thing with Kise. He stood up, paying attention not to bother the redhead's sleep, and he walked out of the room. Everyone was still sleeping, well, everyone but the emo-guy and Kaito.

"Morning!" The redhead's stepbrother warmly greeted him. "You're up early."

Aomine turned around to face him "I need to go shopping today."

"Can't you go later? Take it easy, I bet you didn't sleep very comfortably last night" The raven-haired teen noted. It was so early and he was already being so annoying.

"No, I can't. I'm meeting up with someone"

"Oh, I see. Too bad then..." Himuro replied with his morning pokerface.

"_Must, stay, calm._" He thought to himself. After the chat he and Kagami had the previous night, he found the guy just a little bit less unbearable. Just a little though. Aomine gathered his things and, after just a few minutes, he was ready to leave the place.

"Don't you want to take a shower?" Kaito asked. He was fully dressed as well.

"Nah, I'm going home to get ready, anyway." But right then, he felt like doing something.

He made up a random excuse.

"I forgot my wallet."

Aomine walked into his rival's room again, and stood by the door. The redhead was still sleeping there. He smiled and got closer to the lying body, gently stroking the crimson locks. He then grabbed his coat and walked to the door.

" 'Kay, I'm done. See ya."

"Bye! Aomine! It was nice meeting you!" Kaito saw him off and Himuro just waved.

"Mhhh, morning..." Alex yawned. "Kaito, why are you all dressed up? Don't tell me you're leaving!"

"Yeah, my father wants me back. He needs to tell me something about Taiga's training I think. I have to go to the airport soon."

"What a shame, well, we'll keep in touch somehow."

"Of course, Alex" They both smiled to each other.

"Actually, I'm going _now_. I just remembered I have something to do. See you guys!" He hugged Alex and Tatsuya, then he picked his things up and left the place.

* * *

And so Aomine was walking down the main street once again, thinking about that party's latest events and how not to be bored to death with Kise's shopping routine, when he heard a hand grabbing his shoulder.

"Yo." Kaito's bright smile greeted him again.

"Yo." Aomine replied. What did the guy still need from him?

"Don't worry, I'll be quick. I just wanted to ask you to make up your mind and understand what you really feel for Taiga. I'm not forcing you to accept him, but make sure not to get his hopes up for nothing, ok? It might not look like it, but he's very sensitive...well, at least when it comes to feelings, hahaha."

The tanned boy didn't get the _true_ reason behind those words. "Stop beating around the bush and say what you have to say." He glared at the man.

"There, there. Don't get mad, Aomine." Then Kaito suddenly stopped smiling and became serious altogether. "I'm just saying if you deceive him, or if you ever dare to make him cry again I'll come to you (no matter where you are at that moment) and beat you to death."

The man's gaze gave Aomine the creeps. He wasn't joking.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"You'd better do so." Kaito smiled again. "Ooops! Look at the time, I really have to go! See you in a couple of days, Aomine." He ran away waving at the teen.

"Whatever..."

After a short visit to his home, that gave him the chance to discard the wrinkled clothes he was wearing and take a nice, warm, shower, Aomine was ready to go out again.

He met Kise in front of his door, the blond teen could be easily noticed, being always surrounded by a load of girls, even there.

"Oi, Kise. Don't take your fans here, they're noisy."

"Aominecchi!" He made his way through the sea of girls. "Let's go! I have to buy a ton of clothes and other stuff as well!"

They headed to the closest shopping mall, and Aomine knew it was going to end up the same way as Satsuki's shopping usually did. After a quick stop to a Maji Burger that was there, they started the chase.

"So, Aominecchi, what did you do yesterday? Did you spend the day between the bed and Mai-chan's magazines again?"

"That's NOT how I usually spend my time, Kise. I admit I like lazing around like that, but it's not like I do that all the time."

"What did you do then? Come on, I asked you to come with me because it's been so long since we last had a nice chitchat, but you're not being talkative at all!"

"I didn't want to come in the first place... I was going to let that idiot have his rematch" He smiled, thinking about how the redhead could be so wild on the court and so docile when drunk. And Kise didn't let that smile go unnoticed.

"Did you meet with him yesterday?"

Aomine looked at his friend. _Bull's eye_. "What makes you think I did?"

"Both of you have been smiling a lot recently, you and Kagamicchi I mean. I don't know, though, I might be wrong but it reminds me of when me and _him_ started going out."

The taller boy widened his eyes in surprise."What?!" But then he chose not to mind it, looking away. "It's not like that."

"If you say so, Aominecchi." Kise smiled at him, but Aomine was sure he saw a little smirk in that apparently, innocent expression.

"Just buy your damn clothes, I need to get back early to prepare my things for tomorrow."

"Why? What's happening tomorrow?"

"I'm going to the US"

"REALLY?! So this was the thing Kagamicchi was talking about the other day...wait, are you going with him?"

"Yeah, his father gave him two tickets for his birthday, and he choose to bring me along."

"Yeah, suuuure." The blond guy winked.

"What are you implying, Kise?" Aomine feigned ignorance.

Kaijou's ace smirked "Why didn't he ask Kurokocchi? Wouldn't that be _way_ more logical?"

"It's a basketball training session, so I guess Kuroko wouldn't be the best choice, since his athletic skills aren't that good."

"It seems to me that you already _do_ know the reason why he asked _you _to come with him. Don't worry, I won't bother you guys, hehehe"

"I don't get what you're talking about but whatever." Aomine didn't want to tell Kise about his and Kagami's (at the moment) complicated relatioship. It would take too much time and he didn't fancy the idea of the blond guy knowing their feelings and squealing here and there while he talked about the previous night's kisses.

Because yeah, they _did_ kiss.

Aomine wasn't paying enough attention to what happened, but realization hit him hard. _Gosh_.

"Let's just get this done. I think I'll buy something as well. I need nice clothes to wear in America."

"Okay!"

And the two of them spent the rest of the afternoon shopping together, with Kise buying ten times the amount of what Aomine did.

* * *

::::::::::::::

* * *

Kagami was laying on his bed, boredom and worry overwhelming him. He was all alone in that house that had been so lively until a few hours before, and, on top of that, the idiot he liked was out on a date with his friend that was also the guy's...ex-crush? Boyfriend? Lover? He didn't know. He was feeling frustrated and sighed against his pillow, looking at the alarm that showed the time. It was already evening. _Maybe_ the two of them had already gone home, or _maybe_ they both went to the blue-haired rival's house...

"Damn."

_Maybe_ they wanted to spend the rest of the "day" together, Aomine wouldn't be around for weeks, after all. They were probably making the most of the little time they had together.

"Stop it, Taiga. You're becoming a psychopath." He rolled on the bed and grabbed his phone. If he sent the idiot a message and got no reply, it would mean he was busy with...something else.

-To: Ahomine.-

-Yo, how's it going? I need to call you to talk about tomorrow morning, are you free?-

-Sent-

He rested his head on the pillow again and relaxed. There was still something bothering him though: why had he been sleeping on the floor? The others had too, of course, but he's been sleeping on the floor alone, in his room, while everyone else was in the living room. What happened exactly?

He remembered Tatsuya mentioning some drinks...did they drink something weird? Did he pass out? But why in his room? Maybe he was just trying to reach the bed but he fell down right after entering the room...yeah...that was the most likely scenario.

His phone emitted a glint: he had a new text message. Could it be..?

-From: Ahomine-

-Yeah, I'm not busy now, you can call, Bakagami.-

The redhead smiled. He had worried for nothing.

"Yo, Ahomine, what's up?"

"Nothing much, really. I'm fucking tired, Kise made me go around the shopping mall all the damn day. My legs are numb."

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty rough on you" He paused. "How did it go?"

"Not bad, actually. I bought some nice clothes that I'll put in the suitcase later. What did you want to talk about?"

"Since our flight is around 11 o'clock, meeting at eight would be enough, right? Do you want to come here or do you prefer meeting at the airport?"

"8 o'clock is damn early, but I guess there's no helping it. Let's meet at your house, I don't even know how to get to the airport"

He sighed, but somehow his rival's idiocy always made him smile. "You Aho-mine. Ok then see you tomorrow then.. Oh, wait! Do you know what happened last night? "

Aomine played it cool. "What do you mean?"

"I woke up on the floor this morning, and I can't remember anything after the girls baked the cake..."

"Maybe I do remember something."

"Really?! Then wha-"

"But I won't tell you. See ya." Aomine hung up. Teasing Kagami was so nice.

"AHOMINE YOU BASTARD!" The redhead placed the phone on the nightstand.

He couldn't believe they would have three whole weeks all to themselves. Tomorrow would be a great day.

* * *

He woke up at six just to make sure to pack everything he needed, especially his sportswear and the shoes, plus some casual clothes. They were going to spend the first day with his family, after all.

At a quarter-past eight he heard a knock on the door and opened the wooden board, finding a very tired Aomine in front of it.

"You didn't get any sleep, did you? I guess you were too excited about the whole thing, huh?" Kagami gave him an all-knowing smile.

"Shut up and let's go."

They got in the red car that was waiting for them on the opposite sidewalk, with Alex waiting inside, and headed to the airport. Once they got there, the woman saw them off, kissing Kagami _on the cheek. _The two teenagers checked-in and passed the several metal detectors, then they finally got on the plane.

They were sitting next to each other, of course, Kagami next to the window while Aomine next to the aisle. The redhead noticed how the guy would look at the passing stewardesses, and rolled his eyes. That damn boob-freak.

"Can you stop drooling every single time they come over? It's fucking annoying, you know?"

Aomine didn't break his eye-contact with the woman's backside. "Hm? Did you say something?"

Kagami couldn't do anything but sigh and endure it. It was going to be a long flight, though. When it was allowed, he took his iPod from his hand-luggage and kept himself busy with some music. In the end, the journey was quite peaceful, with Aomine sleeping most of the time. When they landed, Kagami found a big surprise waiting for them.

"Dad!"

"Taiga!"

Aomine watched as the redhead ran to hug his father. Kagami-san was a very tall man, and he looked just as Kaito said: dark brown hair, brown eyes, and split eyebrows. Plus a significant mustache.

After the sweet reunion, Reo approached Aomine to introduce himself. "You must be Aomine Daiki. My son's talked a lot about you, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, no, it's my pleasure, I mean.."

"Sorry, dad, he's no good with formalities."

"No worries, Aomine. Now let's go, shall we? You need to leave your things at home, then we'll take you on a tour of the city."

The two of them started carrying their suitcases but a voice made everyone turn around.

"Taiga! Aomine!" Kaito was running in their direction. "Thank goodness we made it in time..."

"We?" Aomine asked, and then his jaw dropped when he saw a gorgeous woman with long, red hair and red eyes coming their way. She was dressed in casual clothes, probably coming from work.

"Mom!" Taiga hugged her tight.

"Eh?! Mom?!" Aomine couldn't believe his rival had such a good looking mother.

"Kim! You made it!" Kagami-san smiled at his wife.

"Yeah, somehow they let me took a day off. I'm all yours today, guys." And she hugged Taiga again. "You've grown so tall! No wonder you're good at basketball. Is this your friend?" She looked in Aomine's direction.

"Yeah he's Aomine, he plays in a different team but we're..." He hesitated for a second "friends"

"I see" She offered him her hand to shake. "I'm Kagami Kim, nice to meet you."

The blue-haired teen clumsily shook hands with her "Uh, yeah...".

"Well, now that everyone's arrived let's go!" Kagami-san led the group to his expensive car and the five of them got inside, loading the luggage on the rack. During the ride, Aomine looked outside the window, enjoying the sight of that amazing city, so different from the one he was used to, while the others listened to Kagami talking about his latest matches and the team.

"We're here!" Kim announced.

Aomine widened his eyes: Kagami's apartment, located on the top floor of a small skyscraper, was huge. It included the whole floor. The rooms were illuminated by the sunlight entering through the enormous windows that encircled the place. Every piece of furniture was a high quality one, and the TV screen was the widest one he'd ever seen. Walking around the living room, that was divided from the kitchen by a low wall (just as the one in Kagami's apartment in Tokyo), Aomine noticed some stairs that led to an upper floor, where several doors could be seen.

"This place is unbelievable"

"I know, right!" Kagami was so happy, being with his family again. "I'll show you my room, bring your things."

The redhead carried his luggage up to the first room of the upper floor, followed by his rival. The room wasn't exceptionally big, but it wasn't small either. It had light blue walls and dark blue curtains, that matched the sheets on the bunk beds that were on the right side. On the left, there was a big closet and a desk with a laptop. A small TV was attached to the wall.

"Just leave everything here. I'll show you around."

Aomine helplessly followed his friend that indicated him where to find the bathrooms (there were two of them) and everyone's room. Then they met with the other three people.

"What do you think about this place, Aomine?" Kagami-san asked him.

"It's damn huge."

"Oi!" Kagami eyed him for speaking so rudely in front of his father, but Reo wasn't bothered by it.

"Hahahaha! Don't worry, make sure to be yourself here. We want to know Taiga's friends as they truly are."

Aomine was impressed by Kagami-san's thinking. He was a rich businessman, but he didn't seem like one of those who only care about money. He really treasured his family. They got in the car again, and Kagami-san left them at the city center. They went all together to visit the Navy Pier, Willis Tower, Grant Park and the main attractions of the city, taking pictures together.

"Okay, guys! Now we'll give you free time!" Kim said. "We'll meet at home, make sure to come back for dinner!"

"Okay mom, we'll take the bus. Bye!" Kagami vaved off. "So" He looked at Aomine "Do you like it here?"

"Of course I do, Bakagami. It's the most amazing place I've ever visited. Everything about it is so damn cool." He grinned, warming up the redhead's heart.

"I'm happy to hear that. Anyway, what do you wanna do now? Do you have somewhere you want to go?"

"Not really, anything's fine. I still can't believe I'm in Chicago." Touou's ace was in such high spirits for once.

"Okay then, I'm going to take you to a special place." Kagami smiled to himself, he knew the idiot would like the surprise. After a five-minutes walk, the two of them stopped in front of a store, and Kagami raised his hand, showing the entrance in a theatrical way.

"Ta-da! This is the biggest and most famous Jordan's seller in Chicago."

Aomine let his eyes run across all the amazing shoes in the store, staring in awe. He got closer to a pair and gently touched the laces, passing his fingers on the soft fibers.

"This is awesome." He grinned and looked at Kagami. "Thanks."

It was the most sincere one the redhead had ever heard from him, and added to that bright smile, Kagami felt himself melting. Starting from Aomine's smile, his look rested on the guy's lips, and Seirin's ace wished we could feel that warmth on his own, again.

Wait..._again_? How could he imagine the taste of the man's lips so vividly? Could it be...

"Hey, Aomine, you still haven't told me what happened at the party"

"What are you referring to?"

"You know what I'm talking about, please explain, because I don't remember a thing"

The tanned male looked in the redhead's eyes for several moments, without uttering a word. He then looked at the shoes again.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"What? Why?!"

"Maybe one day I will, but not right now."

Kagami sighed. "So something _did_ happen..." he thought.

"I'm trying these on."

And so Aomine bought a new pair of basketball shoes. They were black with a red stripe on the inner side and a blue one on the outer one. He didn't know why but they looked the most amazing ones he had ever had. After that, they visited several other places Kagami was familiar with, like some local basketball courts, where they assisted to a very intriguing match of street basketball, and the one he and Himuro used to play in. Before they knew it, it was time to go back.

Aomine had to admit Kagami's family was really lively and nice: since they didn't get to see each other so often, when they did they made sure to enjoy their time together. Dinner was cooked by Kagami, that, according to his father, was even better at it than his mother. Once dinner was over, Aomine and Kagami went to the redhead's room, they were going to leave early the next morning, so they needed enough sleep.

* * *

"Hey, Kagami, how come your mother knows Japanese so well?" Aomine asked from the upper bed.

"She's incredibly good at it, right? She's studied our culture for several years, and she's also lived in Hokkaido for some time. By the way, I never tested it, but how's your English?"

"I guess it's not too bad, I'm used to watching NBA matches, so I hear people speaking it quite often."

"That's good then."

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

Since no one was saying anything, Kagami took the chance to know the answer to some of his questions. "Aomine, why did you agree to come with me?" He hoped it wasn't just the appealing opportunity of travelling to the US and attending an NBA training camp. He was hoping there was something more to it. Would he say yes to such a chance even if it wasn't _him_ asking it? Probably yes, but even so...

"Well it's a good opportunity to know different people, and to meet new rivals that can face me on the court. I'm sure it will be full of strong players." He grinned "I can't wait to play against them"

"I see..." If that was the case, Kagami wouldn't be his best opponent anymore. He needed to improve: it was the only way to keep facing his rival, and he was determined to do it.

"Yaaaaaawn..." Aomine was still lacking some sleep, even after taking multiple naps on the plane. "G'night, Bakagami. And remember: even if I'm thanking you a lot lately, you're still a moron to me."

"Yeah, right. See you tomorrow, AHOmine." He smiled and closed his eyes.

* * *

**SOOOOO... here's the sixth chapter! :D I hope you liked it. If so, you can add Chained Chance to your favs/follows or leave a review! (everything makes me extremely happy)**

**MORE TO COME!:  The training has finally started! Old and new acquaintances are coming, and things will not get well for the AhoBaka couple...*dramatic music playing on background***

**Also, I know you're all waiting for the SMUT part, but I don't want to rush things...it will happen soon enough :) **

**Thanks for reading this story and for supporting it!**

-I've started another fanfiction about Aomine and Kagami (with other pairings too) you can check it on my profile ;) -

**Thanks again! **

**cya!**

**( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-**


	7. Ch6

**Hello, everyone! This time it's a longer chapter :D I'm so happy I managed to finish this in time *grins* I didn't want you to wait another month like I did last time...**

**Anyway: THANKS THANKS THANKS! To all those who left a review/follow/fav: YOU GUYS ALWAYS MAKE MY DAY, I LOVE YOU. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own KnB or any of its characters..**

**ENJOY! :D**

* * *

_CHAPTER 6: _**NEW BORN**

_TIME: 7:30 DAY: 7/21/20XX_

The alarm finally rang, and Kagami lazily opened his eyes, adjusting to the sunlight coming from the window. It took him a while to realize where he was: their house in Chicago; and it was the day Aomine and him were going to the camp. He had been waiting so much for this day, he couldn't even acknowledge the fact it was really happening.

Smiling, he shifted in the bed, getting rid of the sheets that tangled his feet, determined to go take a shower. He got up and looked above the bed he'd slept in: the idiot was still sleeping. Aomine was showing such a peaceful and relaxed expression, that had no sign of the usual scowl that characterized his forehead. He would have let him sleep, if it wasn't for the fact that they needed to hurry.

"Oi, Aomine"

No response was heard from the unmoving body.

"Hey" Kagami touched the rival's chest, shaking him lightly.

"Aomine, we're gonna be late."

"Hmm..." The tanned body emitted a hoarse groan "...five more minutes.." And he pulled the sheets over his face.

Kagami sighed. He knew the idiot needed some sleep, and the best choice was to let him sleep those five more minutes he was asking for. There was still enough time after all.

"Okay, listen: I'm going to take a shower. When I get back, make sure to be awake"

"Hnn.." The breathing corpse seemed to agree.

"Whatever..." Kagami walked out the room and down the stairs, and to his surprise everyone else was already up.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Taigaaa! Good morning" Kaito hugged his stepbrother and ruffled his hair. "I can't believe you're leaving today. I'm gonna miss you again"

"Me neither. What's for breakfast?" He could smell an inviting aroma invading his surroundings.

"French toasts." His mother replied, inserting bread slices in the toaster, while his father was sitting at the table, reading the daily newspaper.

"Nice."

Kaito searched for a dark figure "Where's Aomine?"

"Still sleeping. I'll wake him up after I take a shower." That being said, Kagami walked away, entering the bathroom. He took off his clothes and took a warm shower, in order not to stress his body too much: he was going to need it for practice. Running the soapy fingers through his hair, he thought about what had happened in just a few days. And _a lot_ had happened. His father's call, the one-on-one with Aomine, Kise, Himuro and Murasakibara, his stepbrother's arrival, the party...

..._wait_. He still didn't remember a thing about that night. Maybe Kaito would tell him.

He exited the cabin and wrapped a towel around his waist, leaving another one hanging on his head, in order to dry his crimson locks, then he went to his brother.

"Hey, Kait-"

"Oh my gosh! WHAT are THOSE?!" Kim stopped serving the toasts and approached her son. "Taiga, are these ABS? Like, are they even real?" She looked at his stomach with sparkling eyes and gently touched it. "Damn! You sure have grown up into a fine man. I wanna see my nephews soon enough!" She winked.

"Let me see! I wanna see!" Kaito made his way to his brother and copied the woman's expression.

"Whoa...these sure are fine..." He traced the muscles with his fingertips. "I have them sculpted too, but I wouldn't expect you to get them this soon, you must be practicing a lot."

"Uh, yeah, I guess..." Kagami was starting to feel awkward, being looked at like he was some kind of celebrity.

Looking up for a second, Kaito noticed someone coming down the stairs, and didn't miss his chance to tease the guy a little.

He kept touching his brother's exposed skin, tracing every muscle and bone, from his abs up to his collarbones, then he wrapped his hands around Kagami's waist, and began tracing his back.

"You're fine here too, huh, _Taiga_?" Emphasizing the boy's first name, Kaito eyed the blue-haired teen that was coming their way, well aware that the guest was giving him a very threatening look.

"Yeah, I train a lot, so all of my muscles are well exercised..." He was starting to feel _really_ awkward. And his mother was smirking in a twisted way, exchanging glances with his stepbrother, then looking at him, then behind his back, for no apparent reason. Kagami tried to turn around to see what the reason of her interest was, but right then, Kaito did it. He let his hands roam _lower, _resting right on his ass.

Kaito grinned looking at the tanned figure that was now stomping his way towards them, glaring at him with all his hatred.

"Kaito?!" Kagami widened his eyes at the sudden, uncomfortable touch, and shoved his brother away, just to feel another hand wrapping around his shoulders.

"Good morning" a husky voice greeted, still glaring at the teasing stepbrother.

"Oh! Morning, Aomine. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, _thanks_." He didn't like the morning show though.

Kaito smiled. "Taiga, go get dressed, we're having breakfast in a moment."

The redhead got away from his rival's grasp and started searching for clothes to wear, rummaging inside the closet. He had to make a good impression on the first day.

In the end he chose a white t-shirt with a dark red pocket on the chest, and black bermuda shorts. He threw both of his towels on the bed and grabbed some red underpants.

"Oi, Kagami, have you seen my phone?"

The redhead froze in place. His hands holding the red cloth, his knees lightly bent. He was looking at the guest like a kid that was caught stealing candies from a shop, his jaw partially open, his eye _widely_ open, a blank expression on his face.

They kept looking at each other until _his_ look started roaming somewhere else, scanning the redhead's body from head to toe. He couldn't say he wasn't enjoying the sight of the naked Bakagami standing there, startled, still not understanding the situation.

And Aomine smirked.

He made his way inside like there was no problem at all, sending not-so-furtive glances to that sun-kissed flesh beside him, pretending to look for his phone.

And just then, Kagami realized. He paled, like no blood was running in his veins. Then, after a second, he became as red as his crimson hair.

"Aomine..."

"Yes?" The blue-haired teen turned around, facing him.

"CAN'T YOU FUCKING KNOCK?! GET THE FUCK OUT! NOW!" He yelled at him, grabbed the first solid thing he found (that was a sneaker) and threw it at the guy like he was going for a three-pointer. Aomine was faster though, he dodged the killer shoe and made his way to the door.

"No need to get flustered, Bakagami. We're both guys after all, aren't we." He smirked. Of course he knew why the redhead was acting all shy, but teasing him was too much fun. Also because that little _encounter_ with Kaito didn't please him at all.

He turned around once more and smirked. "Nice ass by the way."

"AHOMINEEEEE!" Another shoe went flying his direction.

"Okay, okay I get it. Hurry up though, I need to get changed too." He closed the door behind him.

Kagami breathed heavily. He was still blushing. Was he an idiot? Yes, he was. Undoubtedly. Not only had he let Aomine see his naked body (which already sounded embarrassing enough) but he'd made a fuss over it! The guy was right: they were both guys, and in a few hours they would share a room. Together. The two of them. He needed to get used to undressing in front of the tanned idiot, but more importantly, he needed to get used to seeing the idiot undress in front of himself. And that sounded _way_ harder than the first deal. How was he supposed to keep his cool when the chocolate, sculpted body he had dreamed of so many times was right beside him, in all his naked glory?

The idea didn't sound as nice as it did before. It was going to be tough to hold back.

Kagami sighed and rested his hands on the closet.

"Oi, Bakagami are you done?"

He quickly put his underwear and shorts on. "Not yet!". Then his shirt. Finally, he was struggling with the necklace where Tatsuya's ring was hanging.

The door opened, and Aomine entered the room, wearing nothing but his towel, just like Kagami had done a while before.

The redhead tried not to look. He really did, but that moving set of tight muscles was just _magnetic_. Before he knew it, he was staring at Aomine's handsome body. He was never going to get that chain around his neck like that.

Touou's ace noticed him staring, of course, and he started to guide the teen's look where he wanted, tightening this and that muscle, stretching his back a little. Then he heard a tingling sound that he found strangely _annoying_. Turning around, he saw Kagami struggling with the emo-guy's necklace. Fuck. He hated that thing, it was always around the redhead's neck.

"Need help?"

"Huh?" Kagami felt strong arms replacing his own around the silver chain, a steamy breath on his neck, hot skin almost touching his back.

If that was what awaited him the next three weeks, there was _no_ _way_ he could resist. Every second of that agonizing silence, of that sweet torture, was making him lose his mind. He wished his rival would hurry the hell up, but time was passing, and the hot breaths on his skin weren't stopping.

Aomine took the necklace between his fingers, and he wanted to break it into pieces and throw the fragments out of the window. He really did, but he held himself back. He gently hung the metallic thing around Kagami's neck and clasped it.

"Here, done."

Kagami checked that the chain was well clasped and got back to business, wearing his socks.

"Wait, no "_thanks_" for me?"

"Shut up and get dressed, breakfast's ready." The redhead put his shoes on and ran downstairs. He couldn't stand being in the same room as that _damn_ _hot_ idiot.

Finally alone in the room, Aomine grinned to himself and thought about what drunk-Kagami had said to him. How could the idiot _not_ realize he _had_ realized? The redhead was so obvious about his feelings for him, and he knew that trip was going to set things down once and for all. He needed to be careful: anything could improve or end their friendship, and he didn't want the second scenario to happen, since Kagami gave sense to his life. He just wished he could make up his mind and stop wavering, but thinking wasn't really his thing, and he knew he was a total disaster when relationships were on the line, both romantic ones and friendly ones. He didn't get how his ex and present teammates could still handle him, since he'd never done _anything_ about it. Well, it was more like he'd never _cared_ about friendships. But this one was different. He did care about his bond with Kagami, and since it was a first for him, he had no idea what to do.

Breakfast with the Kagami's was nice and lively, even if Aomine was still annoyed by Kaito's morning advances to the redhead.

After they ate, the two players got ready to leave, closing the suitcases and saying goodbye to the host family.

Kagami hugged his parents, that wished him the best with everything, while Aomine simply thanked and waved. Then they followed Kaito outside, and got inside the car.

"Are you guys excited?"

"Hell yeah!" Kagami grinned. "There's the chance we'll meet NBA players! Can you imagine it, Aomine?" He smiled at the friend, and Aomine answered with a weak, but sincere smile.

"Yeah." Even if his usual attitude didn't make him look happy all the time, this was really a great chance for both of them, and he couldn't _not_ be excited about going to such an amazing event.

The ride went on quite smoothly, with Kaito asking further questions about Kagami's teammates and the famous Generation of Miracles. After an hour, the car stopped in front of a grey starway. The steps led to the top of a green hill.

"Well, guess it's time for you to go, huh?" Kaito said.

They took their respective things and carried them in front of the grey steps.

"Taiga...UUUUUUHHHH Damn, I'll miss you, lil' bro." He wiped a tear falling on his cheek and hugged the redhead.

"Me too, Kaito."

The taller man grabbed his brother's shoulders.

"Can I-?"

"No. Let's stop with the sudden kisses already." Kagami smiled. "Bye Kaito, see you soon. We'll keep in touch."

"Yeah, I know. Still..." He pouted. "You could give me at least one kiss, Taigaaaa!"

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Enough already." But he couldn't not laugh at his stepbrother's pouty face. He truly loved his family.

Kaito looked at his brother's friend, that was watching the dramatic scene with a suspicious look.

"Bye, Aomine. It was nice to meet you." He fist-bumped him.

"Yeah, same here."

"Keep in mind what I've told you the other day."

The tanned guy remembered their little conversation and the man's threatening glare.

"I will."

"Well then, see ya guys!" He waved and opened the car door. But just before entering, he ran to Kagami.

"Sorry."

He placed a soft kiss on his brother's lips. Then he got inside the car and drove away.

"KAITOOO!" Kagami couldn't get mad at him though.

He shrugged. "Let's go, Aomine."

"..." The guy was too busy holding back his annoyance to answer.

They carried their things up the stairs and enjoyed the view.

In front of them was a glass-like building. It was just a couple of floors tall, but it looked magnificent. The mirror-like windows covered all of the walls, and right on top of the entrance doors, there was the sign "NBA" with the original logo on it. The most beautiful thing was the contrast between the modern structure and the surrounding grass, though. It looked like a dream.

"This is it." Kagami grinned, and Aomine couldn't not look at the guy's overjoyed face. He looked like a kid opening his Christmas present, finding out it was just what he had asked for. Pure, simple happiness.

They noticed there was quite the crowd in front of the main doors, everyone with their own luggage. Approaching the group, they found out it was the meeting point for the new recruits of the training camp.

"How long do we have to wait?" Aomine snorted. Even if he didn't let it show, he was excited as hell.

"No idea, I think we should tell them we're here, though." Kagami told the staff-girl in the middle of the crowd that they had arrived and she wrote a "V" next to their names. Just a few were still blank.

"Taiga, is that you?"

Kagami turned around and met with a familiar face that he hadn't seen in so long.

"Josh! And there's Chris too! What are you guys doing here?!" They high-fived and hugged each other.

"We've been missing you, dude. Playing street basket isn't the same without you on the court. How's it going in Japan?"

"Great. My team has won the national championship last winter."

"WOW! That's amazing! I guess you've improved since then. But I have to warn you: me and Chris aren't the same either. We're playing in one of the strongest teams of the state."

"I can't wait to face you guys on the court."

"Oi, Bakagami, where the hell did you go?! Don't you fucking leave me behind in the crowd."

Aomine made his way through the other players and finally reached the redhead, finding him talking to what he felt being other _annoying_ people. There was a slightly tanned guy with short, blond hair and green eyes, probably as tall as himself. Next to him stood a shorter guy with curly orange hair that fell with soft curls on his brown eyes. He had freckles on his nose and cheeks. Aomine would have called him "ginger guy".

"Ahomine, can't you manage on your own for a second? Jeez.."

"Who the fuck are these people?" He kept talking Japanese, hoping that Kagami would do the same. He didn't want those two to understand what he was saying right now.

But Kagami kept talking in English. "These are some of my friends from my childhood time here in the US. He's Josh, and the curly one's Chris."

The two friends smiled at the tanned player, that gave them an annoyed glare.

"Ahomine!" Kagami slapped his back.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Can't you at least _try_ to be nice for once? We're all in this together, you'll meet new teammates here. And not everyone is as _tolerant_ as your friends from Touou (and _me_)"

"That's none of your business, Bakagami. I'd crush these shrimps even if I were to play blindfolded. And you know that." He scowled.

"He's a...friend of mine from Tokyo, he's kinda good at basketball so he thinks he's a living god or something. And he's also an ass, you've been warned."

"Hahahaha, the two of you look like you're really best pals. I'm happy you found someone like this, Taiga." Chris smiled.

"What?! Do we really look like that!? No way! We are always fighting."

Josh wasn't as delighted as his friend, instead, his green eyes glimmered with a dark light.

"Are you really that strong?" The blond teen grinned. "I've met many players claiming they were the strongest, still, I've beaten them all."

Aomine didn't miss the subliminal challenge within the glance, and he didn't intend to lose on a battle of glaring, which was one of his best-known features. "I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass anytime you want, dude."

"Hey, guys, come on let's keep the challenge for later." Kagami suggested. A heavy atmosphere was falling on the situation, and he didn't have a nice feeling about it.

The two of them stopped glaring at each other and looked at the redhead, but the blond player made the next move. He wrapped his arm around Kagami's neck in a more-than-friendly way and looked at the blue-haired teen, looking for a _certain_ _kind_ of response.

And he found it.

"It was good to see you again, Taiga. I hope we end up in the same team." He smiled, still looking at Aomine.

Kagami didn't get what was happening, but he decided not to meddle with it and make things worse. Aomine wasn't the best choice when it came to human relationships after all.

"Attention, everyone!" The girl, that looked like a mythical pixie among all those tall players, waved her hands as high as she could, to make herself noticeable. "Welcome to this summer training camp! Now I'll take you to your quarters, please follow me. You'll drop your things in your respective rooms and we'll meet again here in two hours for a tour of the facilities. Make sure to change into your practice attire."

The girl started walking and the crowd followed her along the white gravel road. After a while, she stopped.

"Okay, everyone: this is building A, all the people I call are to come here and take their keys."

Many people left to enter the building.

"You guys, follow me"

After a few-minutes long walk, she stopped again.

"Okay, this is building C, all the ones I call please come here."

Among the ones she said there were Josh and Chris.

"Looks like this is our stop, see you later, Taiga!" Josh and Chris waved at them, and Aomine could still feel the twisted glances on him. At least they weren't going to stay in the same building. Before they knew it, it was just the two of them left.

"You guys are lucky." The girl said, and she stopped in front of a building much bigger than the previous ones. It looked nicer too. "This is building F, it's the best one you can stay in. Here are your keys." She handed them some digital cards with a golden "F" on the front, followed by the number "707".

"Enjoy your stay, we'll meet in two hours at the main entrance." The girl left.

Aomine and Kagami looked at each other and entered the building. Inside, the place was neat and clean, and two silver elevators could be spotted in the middle of the hall.

The two guys exchanged glances.

Aomine raised an eyebrow.

Kagami smirked.

Aomine grinned.

And they started a race to the room.

Aomine arrived first at the elevator, but it was coming down all the way from the fourth floor. Kagami's instead, was just on the third one. When the door opened, the redhead laughed at the guy.

"See you in the room, _loser_. The only one who can beat you is _me_, after all."

"You fucking bastard..." Aomine glared at him and waited for his elevator to come. When the doors opened, he did what he thought would be a smart move: he pressed the number to get on the fifth floor, instead of the seventh one: taking the stairs for two floors would be enough to catch up to the idiot.

Kagami, though, had predicted that, and he'd done the exact same thing. When the door opened, he ran outside, going up the stairs, but after nearly ten seconds, he heard some footsteps behind his back.

"_Damn_...that idiot's too fast."

Aomine was just about ten steps behind his rival, catching up quickly. Suddenly, Kagami felt the other's breath on his shoulder.

He grinned, excited about the challenge "You bastard...you won't pass!"

Aomine replied with a smirk "You sure about that?" The tanned guy grabbed Kagami's arm, holding on to it and making his rival lose his pace.

"Shit! That's unfair!"

"Nothing is fair in love and war, Kagami." He managed to breath through his lungs.

"Since when do you know such..." He exhaled "Clever lines?"

"I need them with girls"

Kagami sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance "Of course you do." Then he grabbed the other's shirt and held him back.

"Fuck you!"

Kagami showed him his middle finger and kept running up the stairs. He could already see the hallway of the seventh floor. When he surpassed the last step, he felt something grabbing his ankle.

"AHOMINEEE!"

Kagami fell face-planted on the floor with his suitcase, but he had enough time to react and grab the other's ankle before Aomine got too far from him.

The tanned guy fell just as Kagami did, cursing loudly.

Kagami got up and ran past him, but his rival repeated the same action, and he fell again, this time much closer to Aomine's body. He looked back and saw him grinning between his breaths, still hanging on his ankle. He was breathing heavily too, but he felt so excited about competing with Aomine. It had been a while since they last did.

They both got up at the same time and ran into the hallway, that was quite tight, so they kept pushing each other to the side along the way. When they spotted the room, they both grabbed their cards and Aomine went for inserting it first, but Kagami shoved him to the side and managed to open the door himself.

He held on to the doorknob and panted heavily, looking at his rival that was bent with his hands resting on his knees, to catch his breath.

"Hah...I win, Ahomine!" Kagami grinned and walked inside the room.

"Shut...the fuck..up." Aomine followed him inside but bumped into the guy's back.

"Oi, move the hell out-" He followed the redhead's gaze and widened his eyes.

The "room" was a huge apartment with a panoramic view on the main window, that was _enormous_. The two of them looked down the scenery and admired the different facilities. The whole camp was surrounded by green grass, crossed by white grovel roads. There were several basketball courts here and there, with people playing, plus five main buildings, probably the official courts where important matches were played. There were players everywhere, lying on the grass, walking around, jogging.

Aomine grinned against the glass "This is..."

"Awesome." Kagami replied, grinning just as much as his friend.

"Let's take a look around" Aomine explored the place. The main room had a couch and a huge TV in front of it, together with the panoramic window, which they found was in all the rooms (except for the bathroom). The bedroom was just as big, with a king-sized bed in the middle, a closet on each side, and a LCD TV on top of the opposite wall.

"Why is there only one bed?" Kagami asked...he wouldn't get any sleep if he were to share a bed with the guy. For obvious reasons.

"Who cares! It's damn huge, Bakagami!"

The bathroom was big enough, and it had a wide bathtub on one side, plus a shower on the other side. It was decorated with creamy tiles. It also had a wide mirror that took up half of a wall.

"Wait, I think I saw another door." Kagami led the way back and opened the new door. Behind it, there was the kitchen, that wasn't exceptionally big, but the panoramic glass let the sunlight invade the beautiful surfaces of the counters.

"I guess you're going to cook all of our meals." Aomine smirked, and Kagami just sighed.

"Let's arrange our things inside the closets."

They spent the remaining hour in placing their things around the apartment.

When he entered the bathroom, Kagami looked at the small cup that held Aomine's toothbrush and smiled, placing his own next to his. Living with Aomine was going to be both hard and exciting. Hard because the guy was still rude, plus it wasn't going to be easy to sleep together and live together without staring at him or thinking about certain things... Exciting because it was his chance to know every single thing about the one he loved, seeing him 24/7. [That sounded creepy but hey...whatever!]. They changed clothes (Kagami did so in the bathroom, saying that he was having some problems with his hair. A random excuse, of course.).

It was finally time for them to meet with the girl and take a tour of the place.

They headed to the meeting point and, on their way, they met with none other than Kagami's friends, to Aomine's luck.

"Hey, Kagami! Where are you staying?" Josh wrapped a hand around the boy's shoulder.

"In building F"

"Eeeeeh? Really?! Isn't it the super-expensive one? Well, I guess you can afford that."

"Is it nice?" Chris asked Aomine, but the tanned player pretended not to hear.

Kagami noticed he did, though, and sighed. "It's really cool. It' super big and we have all the place to ourselves"

"Wow! Cool!" Chris smiled. "Wait, did you just say you have it all to _yourselves_?" The shorter guy looked at his blond companion.

"Yeah.." Kagami didn't understand the weird part of that line.

"Hey" Josh asked. "Do you mean you're staying together? Like, sharing the place?!" He eyed Aomine, who glared back twice as hard.

"Uh...yes. Aren't you?"

"Hahaha! No way!" Chris answered him. "All the rooms here are single rooms."

"I guess you have bunk beds, at least?" Josh inquired, curiously.

"Actually we..."

"There's a king-sized bed." Aomine replied.

"WHAT?!" Chris widened his eyes. "Did _you_ ask for it?"

"Of course not!" Kagami explained. My father booked the room, so I guess he made a mistake.

Josh looked at the redhead "Why don't you switch rooms then? I think you can do it. Just ask for two single rooms."

"No way." Aomine glared at the guy. He didn't like his vibe at all. "I can't cook."

That made Kagami face-palm. "Did you have to say it _that_ way?"

"Taiga?! You _can_ cook?!" Chris's face enlightened.

"Well...uh...yeah. I guess..."

"Then make sure to cook something for us." Josh didn't budge, still holding Kagami in his grasp. "We want to taste your cuisine, it might be even better than the one they serve at the canteen".

The girl cleared her voice.

"Follow me, I'll show you around."

She guided them through the place, that was really vast, pointing at several courts where they could practice, plus the five, big ones where official practice and matches were held. After entering the first four of them, the girl led them into the bigger one.

It looked like the basketball arena you would see on TV matches. It was _perfect_. Every single player (and they were a lot) was looking around in awe.

The girl talked again "Let me introduce you to the five coaches that will guide you through this amazing journey." She stood next to five people, three men and two women. They all looked very professional. After a brief intro about them and their career, the girl left the place to a young man with long, black hair, tied in a small ponytail.

"Hello, everyone, nice to meet you. I'm Gordon Reeves, the main head behind all of this. I've worked several years for the NBA, and I still am, of course. Now we're going to test your basic skills."

Everyone shivered at the thought of being tested by such an important judge.

"There's 150 of you. We'll choose the best one-hundred ones and form twenty teams, they might be more or less powerful, depending on your skills and how you can cooperate with the others. The remaining fifty players will have to attend a lower-level training in other structures. For the lucky 100, each coach will choose four teams and train them in one of the five main buildings, this one included. You will practice everyday, and there will be a tournament, starting in few days. Is everything clear? One-hundred of you will be divided into twenty teams, that will be divided among five coaches. I think it _is_ clear enough now.

That being said, let the training begin."

They warmed up running several laps around the court, plus stretching and other straining exercises.

After that, they started with the basic skills: coordination, shooting range, passes, agility. They went on with dribbles, steals, and dunks. And there were already some outstanding players among them, Aomine and Kagami included. Josh looked like the best stealer, while Chris had an ability similar to Takao Kazunari's hawk-eye. There were also some guys, probably twins, that were amazing with fakes, and a very tall player that reminded them of Murasakibara, just bigger.

The final moment had come: they were divided into small groups and faced each other, while the coaches where watching. Kagami and Aomine happened to be in different groups, and when they went against each other, sparks flied. To them it was just like their usual one-on-ones, but to the others, it was something extraordinary. Everyone, even their temporary teammates, stopped playing to look at them. It was like they had created a magnetic field. After the final whistle, everyone caught their breath and dried their sweat away.

The man called Gordon spoke again "Thanks for your hard work, players. The teams will be out tomorrow morning, we'll pin them up to the cork board at the entrance. Now this lady here will tell you about tonight."

"Yes, don't miss the welcome party tonight! It's going to start at 09:00 p.m., and the girls' section is invited too. It's going to be held right here. Make sure not to miss it."

The crowd was left surprised by the girl's words. For obvious reasons.

"There is a girls' section?!"

"Do you mean that there is a training for girls too?"

"Of course! They are in the opposite side of the hill" she smiled. "See you later!"

Aomine couldn't _not_ think about it. Being with Kagami had taken his mind away from his main interest (after basketball): girls. It couldn't be bad to party a bit, right?

* * *

**Soooooooo...here's another chapter! I hope you enjoyed it :) **

**As you can see, my writing style is becoming more balanced, you can say I'm finding my true self through this story :3**

**Sorry about Aomine's sudden shitty attitude, but we all know what he's like... -_- ****By the way, his pick-up line should be "All is fair in love and war" but since they're both dorks, they don't know the right version of it... LOL**

**MORE TO COME: Party all night? Girls? Looks like the perfect chance to hook up...right? Aomine is Ahomine for a reason, after all... but rivals are on their way: Aomine should watch over Kagami a bit more... something unpredictable could happen, especially if alcohol is involved (again). Will drunk-Kagami come back? Who knows... after the hurricane comes the rainbow, but what comes after the rainbow? Hmmmm...**

**If you liked this story, let me know with a review or you can add it to your fav/follows. :) If you ship AoKaga make sure to check out my other story (you'll find it on my profile.)**

**Thanks for reading! I hope to update soon! :D**

**cya!**

**( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-**


	8. Ch7

**Hello, everyone! **

**As always, thanks for supporting this story with all your reviews / favorites / follows! They make me really happy :D and they also make me want to write new chapters one after another *w* yup!**

**Here's the seventh chapter, actually, I originally wrote a much longer one, but it was _way_ too long... so I had to split it up in two parts, and here's the first one :) I'll upload the rest tomorrow!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB or its characters.

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

_CHAPTER 7: _**CHAOS (THUNDER)**

_TIME: 18:23 DAY: 07/21/20XX_

"Isn't this the best?! We're finally gonna meet up with some girls! And they even play basketball! Tonight will be amusing, we _must_ score." Chris raised his fist to the air, whistling in joy.

Josh grinned "Totally, Chris! Shall we go to the party together, Taiga?" He observed his friend's reaction.

Kagami wasn't interested in girls, anyway. But there was no excuse for him to refuse a party, it couldn't be so bad, right?

"I-"

"Hell yeah, we're gonna come!" Aomine wrapped his arm around the redhead's shoulder and smiled to the two of them. "There's no way we'd miss this chance!" He grinned, thinking about the hot, American chicks he would meet in a few hours. It had been a while since he last hooked on a girl, and this opportunity was getting all his attention, making him forget about his red-haired friend.

Kagami had an unpleasant feeling about his roommate's words, but he decided not to mind it.

"Right."

"Great!" Josh went on. "You guys must be pretty popular in your school, huh? I bet you're used to going around hitting on chicks"

"You bet!" Aomine grinned again. "Big-boobs are the best!"

"I know, right! We're gonna have fun tonight!" Chris exchanged looks with Josh.

The blond guy observed Aomine's movements and smiled triumphantly, noticing how Kagami was just looking at the floor.

"Let's meet at nine in front of the main entrance. We'll go in together."

"Sure!" Aomine replied.

They parted ways and headed to their respective rooms.

"Hey, aren't you excited about the party?" The bluenette was still grinning like an idiot, but he had noticed his friend didn't look too happy about upcoming event.

"Uh...yeah." Kagami sighed. Actually, would it be a good idea to go? He'd probably spend the night looking at Aomine groping every single girl at the party.

"Oi, what's up? You sick?" Aomine's smile faded away and he stopped walking, glancing at his friend.

"No, it's just... Actually, yeah, I guess the training was too hard even for me..." He didn't want to talk about this.

"You're damn weak, Bakagami! I still don't get how you beat me in the Winter Cup."

"So you _do_ acknowledge we beat your ass." The redhead smirked at him.

"...Shut up. You're still weak." Aomine opened the door to their apartment. "Well, I'm gonna shower first: ladies don't like the smell of sweat."

Kagami rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Whatever"

Once his roommate entered the large bathroom, Seirin's ace let himself fall on the soft bed.

What could he do?

xx

Aomine got in the shower and let cold drops run down his dark skin. What was with Kagami? He'd been acting weird since they left the gym. The blue-haired teen knew there was no way he would feel sick from the training, but then what was it? And how could he even think of missing such an awesome event as the upcoming party?! It would be loaded with hot girls!

"Bakagami..." He passed his hands through his blue strands. "don't you want to get la- OH SHIT" suddenly, he realized he was forgetting something quite important. "SHITSHITSHITSHIT! I totally forgot about Bakagami!" And he remembered. He recalled the previous days' events, the "accident" that had happened that morning... He remembered Kagami liked _him, _not girls_._

"My head hurts..." Aomine rested his arms on the shower wall. He didn't want to hurt his rival, but he wasn't sure about his own feelings yet... plus the idea of all those basket girls... the party... And it had been quite the long time since he last got laid...

He sighed. He wasn't the best at thinking things over. He would figure it out once they got there.

He got out of the bathroom and red flashed beside him. Kagami ran inside of the bathroom and took a quick shower. He too didn't want to think anymore, the unpleasant feeling was getting worse and worse.

"Oi Kagami, let's go eat dinner." Aomine put on some dark jeans a white shirt that made his delicious dark skin stand out even more.

Kagami tried not to stare at the hot contrast too much. "Sure" He was already fully clothed and ready to go out. He'd chosen a black v-neck t-shirt and cargo shorts. "Wanna go to the cafeteria?"

"Yeah."

"It's already eight, though." He looked at the wall-clock. "We'll have to go straight to the party after dinner."

"That's okay with me. I don't need to come back here, anyway"

"Ok then."

They went downstairs and exited the building. The sky was getting dark and the air had freshened up. There were many people strolling around, nicely dressed, and the cafeteria was full of players ready to pull an all-nighter. The different scents of cologne and essences mixed together in the room, making Kagami's nose itchy and bothered. The white, artificial lights reflected on the white walls, and the redhead could already feel his head hurt.

They paid for their meal, five cheeseburgers for Aomine and ten for Kagami, and settled on a random table.

"You're still eating this much? This burgers are damn huge, Bakagami! Nothing line Maji Burgers'"

"I know that already. I used to eat this much every day when I was a kid." He bit the soft bread.

The bluenette raised an eyebrow in disbelief "You're a monster."

"Thanks." He didn't mind it.

"Feel any better?"

"Hm?" Kagami looked at his rival with his stuffed mouth.

"You were feeling sick, right?"

"Oh..." He'd totally forgotten about it "Yeah, I'm better."

"Good. Hey is it your phone?" He could hear a familiar ringtone.

"Oh shit." Kagami grabbed the phone and picked up.

-Taiga!-

-Yo, Kaito-

-How's it? Do you like the place?-

-Hell yeah! It's huge! I still have to thank dad properly.-

-Happy to hear that- He smiled on the phone. -What are you up to, now?-

-There's a party tonight- He forced his tone to sound happy.

-Niceee! Well, have fun. I'll call you soon. Bye! Say hi to Aomine as well.-

Kagami looked up at his rival, that was munching non-stop.

-Sure. Bye!-

Kaito lost his cheerfulness altogether. -Wait. Be careful tonight... -

\- ?-

-I don't know- He sighed -I just have a bad feeling about this...-

-I'll pay attention. Thanks, Kaito. It's always nice to hear from you- His brother always made him smile.

-Okay, bye!- Kaito hung up.

Kagami looked at his phone still featuring his brother's name. Kaito was also having a bad feeling...

"Was it your brother?"

"Yeah." Kagami went back to eat his pile of burgers.

"By the way, I'm so excited about this training. I think we stood out pretty well today. They have surely noticed we're better than most guys here." Aomine grinned, thinking about all kinds of opponents he would face during those three weeks.

"I think so too. Who knows, we might even end up in the sam team."

"Nah, I don't think we will, I guess they have to make balanced teams." He looked at his friend's tray and drooled. He was still hungry as hell.

"Oi, Bakagami..."

"What, Ahomine?"

"Is that Tetsu?" He pointed at a far place, guiding his rival's look away from the burgers.

"Huh? Where?" Kagami followed Aomine's hand, not noticing a couple of his precious buns were being stolen away.

Aomine placed the prays on his own tray and acted nonchalantly. "I guess I was wrong, my bad."

"Of course you are, there's no way Kuroko would be here..." He looked down and noticed the lack of food.

"AHOMINE! GIVE 'EM BACK!"

"No way. I'm damn hungry."

"FRIST YOU MAKE FUN OF ME AND THEN YOU STEAL MY BURGERS? WHAT THE HELL!" He stretched his hand out to grab the only burger Aomine was not chewing.

His rival, though, didn't intend on letting him take his food back, so he grabbed the bun with a quick movement and moved his arm away from Kagami's grasp.

"You bastard!"

Aomine replied with his signature smirk, which made Kagami even _more_ pissed.

The redhead lifted his butt from the chair and stretched his whole body forward, leaning on the small table and trying to reach the hostage with his free hand.

"Shit-! I can't-" Aomine's hand was still too far for him to catch up to. "I fucking hate y-" Kagami searched for his rival's eyes and realized they were close.

Way too close.

Their faces were almost touching, he could feel the other's steady breath on his own lips.

Embarrassed, Kagami looked down and got back to his seat.

"Whatever.."

"You lose again, Bakagami." Aomine unwrapped the burger and theatrically bit it.

"Do you always have to put it _that_ way?"

"Life is all about winning and losing."

"Your philosophy is sick, you know that?!"

"Shut up." He ate the last piece of meat and let a loud burp set the end of the meal.

"You're a pig." Seirin's ace wrinkled his nose.

"Now, don't tell me you don't even burp, Bakagami?! Are you a fucking princess? Wahahahaha!"

"I do, but I try not to do it in front of other people's faces."

"Burping has no TPO."

Kagami rolled his eyes again. How many times had he done it that day?!

"Let's just go, ok? It's almost nine."

"Sure thing." Aomine stretched his back and got up.

The sun had completely set by then. The night sky was already lighted with countless lights. A soft music filled the air.

When they arrived at the main court, they noticed it was already full of people, both boys and girls. In addition, among the latter there were some very tall girls, and since they played basketball, they all had very fit bodies.

Aomine whistled. "This is gonna get good"

"Hey!" Josh and Chris approached them. The blond-haired teen was wearing a dark red t-shirt and plain jeans, his friend had opted for a green one. "Ready for the party?"

"Yup." Kagami smiled. Josh and Chris were there too, he wouldn't be alone while Aomine hooked up.

"Let's get inside." The bluenette led the others in.

The gym looked like a totally different place. It was dark, of course, but neon lights flashed in the background. The music was still soft and slow, but the room was already full of people.

Once they entered, a teal-haired girl and her red-haired friend glanced at Aomine, smirking and winking at the sight. The dark-skinned teen ran a hand through his blue locks and smirked back.

"Nice starting"

"Hello everyone!" The staff-girl was standing on the podium where the Djs were sound-checking. Everyone stopped talking and looked a her.

"Welcome to your welcome-party! LET'S GET WASTEEEEED!"

The music started playing very loud and fast-rhythmical, while everyone started screaming in excitement. The lights were flashing around, making several shapes with their courses.

Josh noticed a lighten-up spot not too far from them.

"Hey, we can even get booze here?! Sweet!"

"We're underage, Josh, they won't give it to us!" Chris noted.

"Come on, Chris! Do you think they have time and patience to check everyone's age!? It's a damn party, everyone's going to get wasted tonight! Let's go have a drink."

Josh rested his elbow on the counter.

"A Mojito for me"

The bartender looked at him. "Are you even overage?"

"Of course, man! I'm 22 already!"

The man raised an eyebrow but served him the drink nonetheless. "Here you are."

"Thanks." He grinned. "Come on guys, don't be shy!"

"A Bloody Mary for me." Chris said.

"I'll take a Tropical Hooter." Kagami asked.

"I'll go with a Sex On The Beach.." Aomine said while smirking at a blond girl that was ogling him.

The bartender served them the drinks in a minute.

"Whoa! This shit is good!" Josh tasted his and smiled.

"I know, right?!" Chris agreed.

Aomine looked at Kagami and remembered how his rival got wasted with a few sips at Kaito's party.

"You shouldn't drink that."

"Huh!? Why?" Kagami scowled.

"You can't handle it, Bakagami!" Aomine grabbed the redhead's glass and placed it on the counter.

"Hey, give it back, Ahomine! Why am I the only one without a drink!?"

"I told you why! You can't handle alcohol well!"

"How do you even know that?" Kagami was getting furious. First the burgers, then the drink, Aomine was going overboard.

"At your fucking party you almost passed out after a few sips!"

"HAH?! There's no way I would! Give it back!" Kagami reached for the glass and started sipping the content.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT. I won't pick you up when you fall on the floor, BAKAGAMI!"

"Hey, hey, let's calm down" Josh stood between the two of them. "Don't worry, Taiga. _I_'ll help you if anything happens." He eyed Aomine, that averted his gaze.

"Tch! Whatever." He finished his drink and walked away. "I'm gonna get some fun. See ya guys later." He waved off.

"Let's go." Chris looked at his friend. "Taiga, wanna come?"

"Oh, yeah..." Kagami was still looking at Aomine's shadow disappearing in the crowd. He followed Josh and Chris inside the sea of people.

* * *

The bluenette was slowly dancing in a spot near the centre of the room, surrounded by several girls that were touching his arms and his chest, rubbing their breasts on his shirt.

"Gosh, I missed this feeling..." He squeezed a blond's butt, eliciting a small squeal from the girl.

"Hey" a teal-haired girl and a red-haired one got closer to him. Although a bit dizzy from the alcohol, Aomine noticed their huge boobs that were poorly hidden by their tight tank-tops. The first one wrapped her arms around his neck, while the redhead encircled him from behind, pressing her chest against his back.

"Looking for some fun?" The teal haired one guided his hands on her naked thighs, while the redhead shoved her hands under the white shirt, feeling the rippling muscles.

Aomine was having a hard time keeping his sanity in control. The alcohol, the loud music, the screams, the smell of booze, the feminine scent, the boobs, Kagami. Kagami? Yeah he really shouldn't give in to this...there was his rival, that liked him, and maybe he liked him back, but... The acohol, the loud music, the screams, the smell of booze, the feminine scent, the boobs, those thighs. The girl grabbed his chin and got closer to him. Those lips.

_CHAOS_.

* * *

"Daaaaamn!"

"Gosh, Taiga! Stand up for fuck's sake!" Josh helped his friend gain some balance, holding his arm.

"Ahomine you... BASTAAAAAARD!" He cried out.

"Shit-" Josh pushed him in a corner and let him sit on the floor, next to other people that looked like they were about to throw up any moment.

"Oi, Taiga, can you hear me?"

"Ahomineeeee..." Kagami had his eyes closed and was yelling at random people's faces.

"TAIGA!" He slapped him twice.

"OUCH! STOP THAAAAaaAAaat! Huuuurtsss!" The redhead rubbed his cheek in pain.

Josh held him by the shoulders. "Taiga, who am I?"

"Huh?!" Kagami looked up to meet his gaze, struggling to keep his eyes open. "JOSH! Josh, it's been so long! What are you doing in Japan?"

Josh face-palmed and tried not to cry of exasperation. "_Chris, you ow me one_... Taiga, how do you feel, can you stand?"

"Josh! What are you doing here! It's AMAAAAzinGG!"

"Let's stand up one more time, ok?" The blond teen raised Kagami's arms and lifted him up. The redhead instinctively held on to him, grasping his shoulder.

"Where is Aomine?" He looked down. "Is he with a girl...? Ahomine you idiot... Leaving me alone like this..."

That was conversation was getting strangely interesting to the blond guy.

"Hey, Taiga..."

"Hm?" Kagami looked up, still dizzy.

"What kind of relationship do you have with that Aomine?"

"EEEEH?" He looked confused. "We're frieeeends! ...no, we're not friends..." The redhead was looking anywhere but in his friend's eyes.

"What does that mean?" He held Kagami in place.

Kagami cried out. "HE's stupid! I HATE HIM! AHOMINEEEEEEEE!"

"Do you like him, perhaps?" Josh inquired.

Kagami looked down at his feet. "Yeah..."

Josh sighed. "So I _was_ right after all..." The blond guys sighed and held the redhead's hands. "Look Taiga, I know I shouldn't tell you right now, but I've been in love with you for quite some time now, since we were kids, and now that you're back I-"

But Kagami wasn't paying attention to those words, if anything, he was now looking at the central spot of the dance floor, where a very familiar figure was busy wildly running his tongue inside a couple of girls' mouth, while the females kept rubbing their soft bodies on his.

"Aho...mine..." A small drop ran on Kagami's cheek.

"Hey, are you list-" Josh noticed the tear and followed the redhead's gaze, spotting Aomine in the crowd.

"Taiga, listen... I know this sounds crazy and weird and fucked up, but if you want we could..."

Kagami kept looking at the dark shadow dancing in the chaos.

"Oh, FUCK IT!"

Josh grabbed Kagami's nape and close the gap between them, pressing their lips together.

The redhead widened his eyes, but he decided to let it go. Nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

"Where are you going?" The teal-haired girl pressed her hand on his chest.

"I just have to check on something, I'll be right back." And he gave her ass a firm squeeze.

Making his way through the crowd, he looked for a glimpse of those bright red locks.

"Shit! Where did they go?"

Looking around, he noticed someone familiar.

"Yo, uhm Chris. Where's Kagami?"

The shorter teen was dancing with a dark-haired girl. "No idea, bro. I left him with Josh."

Aomine walked past the bartender's counter and then he froze.

"What the fuck..."

A blond figure was pressing a red-haired one against the wall... they were making out.

"OI, BAKAGAMI!" He shoved Josh away and grabbed the redhead by his t-shirt. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"

Kagami looked at him in a daze, recognizing the teen. "Ahomine..."

"Why the FUCK are you making out with _him_?!" He pointed at the blond guy.

"Hey! Move the HELL away and go back to your sexy girls!" Josh slapped Aomine's hand away from the cloth.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that ever again." He punched the guy right on his face.

"AHOMINE! STOP!" Kagami gathered his strength and pushed him away from his friend that was gasping for air.

"Don't touch me, you fucking homo!"

Kagami looked at him in disbelief and helped his friend regain his balance.

"I was fucking worried about you, but it looks like you're PERFECTLY FINE EVEN WITHOUT ME." He stomped away, vanishing through the dancing people.

"He's a fucking monster.." Josh grabbed Kagami's wrist. "Let's go somewhere else"

* * *

"Hey, what happened?" Aomine let those soft hands roam over his body once again.

"Nothing...just a bad day." Shit! Did he just punch that guy?! What had gotten into him!

"Really..." The teal-haired girl whispered to his hear. "By the way, I'm Tanya, and she's Lucy". The red-haired girl smiled.

"Nice, I'm Daiki." He smirked. The remaining alcohol was still preventing him from thinking straight. "Wanna go somewhere else?" Fuck that Bakagami, he was getting laid.

"Our room is far from here..." Tanya looked at him with a seducing gaze.

"Just come to mine. I have a king-sized bed."

"Nice!" Lucy squealed, feeling the boy's biceps.

They walked out the ballroom and Aomine tried to cast his thoughts away, looking at what the girls had to offer. Tanya's hair was cut short and fell on her ears, while Lucy's was tied in a long but loose ponytail. Their bodies had the perfect measurements, from the large breasts to their slim waist.

"Are you girls good at basketball?"

"Yup!" The red-haired one answered. "We're really skilled with... _balls_." She giggled, looking at him.

"Wow, Lucy, you're so bold tonight." Tanya laughed at her friend's statement.

"It's just that I really enjoy our new _companion_" She squeezed Aomine's arm between her hands and her soft chest, making him smirk, liking the sensation and the cleavage the girl was showing.

The smirk was soon lost, though.

"You AGAIN?! Get the hell OUT OF MY SIGHT." The blue-haired teen glared at Josh and Kagami. It looked like the redhead had somehow sobered up a bit and could now stand on his own. The girls glanced at him and then glared at the two boys that were interrupting their flirting.

"Calm down, jeez!" Josh answered, keeping his cool. "I'm bringing Kagami to his room, he needs to rest!"

Kagami was looking down. He didn't want to witness playboy-Aomine's actions.

"HUH?! Excuse me?! Where do you intend on taking him?!" Aomine crossed his arms and gave Josh and Kagami a death glare. "Oi, Bakagami, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Kagami looked up but he didn't meet his rival's look. "I just wanna go to sleep." He shrugged and then he felt a wave of dizziness shaking his body. He fell on the floor.

Aomine tried to help his friend, but someone was already lifting him up.

"Shit! Taiga!" Josh rested his hand on Seirin's ace shoulder. "You ok, bro?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, really... I just need to rest." He held his forehead in his hands and got up once again, holding on to Josh's shoulders.

"Daiki, are we going or what?" Tanya asked, annoyed by the dramatical inconvenience.

"They even call you by your first name!? The hell?!" Kagami widened his eyes, shocked by the girl's request.

"YES, THEY DO." Aomine was already pissed about seeing Kagami and the blond guy kissing. And now they were acting like the prince helping the fucking damsel in distress.

He lost it.

"Right, let's go." He turned his back around and held the girls by their waists.

Kagami looked at his rival walking away and managed to ask something. "Wait, Aomine! Where are you going?!"

"To my room, of course." The bluenette eyed him, and so did the girls beside him.

Kagami widened his eyes "Are you... bringing them along?!"

"YES."

Kagami was stunned, flabbergasted, but, most of all, _upset_. His damn rival wanted to fuck those girls (not even one, but two!) in _their_ room, without even asking for permission or anything.

Oh but the redhead had noticed how the idiot was annoyed by Josh's presence, and he was going to ruin the guy's plans just with that. He was no weak player, after all.

"Then I'm going to spend the night at _Josh's_ room!"

Aomine turned around and glared at him. "WHAT?!"

"You're kicking me out of my own room! What do you expect me to do?! Sleep outside on the cold grass?!"

"You're _so_ _not_ going to spend the night at _his_ place. DON'T YOU DARE, BAKAGAMI!" He threatened him.

The redhead reacted consequently. "Then don't you dare bring those girls to our room tonight!"

Aomine shoved the girls away and stomped closer to Kagami. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" He faced him, clenching his fists. The idiot was making him go overboard.

"_YOU_ don't tell me what to do!" Kagami pushed him and looked in his eyes with a decisive gaze.

"DON'T FUCKING SLEEP WITH HIM! Oh...wait, are you actually going to SLEEP with him?! Like SLEEP SLEEP?! Hah! I'd better watch out from now on, who knows you might even looking at _me_ that way." He realized what he had just said and knew he would regret those hurtful words. But he couldn't lose to his rival on a verbal fight. His pride and the alcohol were a deadly match.

"WHA-?!" The redhead looked at him in disbelief. "OF COURSE NOT! And it's none of your business anyway!"

"It fucking IS."

"Sto yelling, Ahomine! You're putting on a show!" There was quite the crowd around them by then.

"_YOU_ STOP YELLING!"

"Fine! Do what you want, I'm going with Josh anyway!" He grabbed his friend's wrist and walked away.

"Don't you dare leave with him, Bakagami."

Kagami kept waling, step after step. He didn't want it either, but Aomine's words left him no other choice.

"Have fun with those girls tonight. Bye."

"COME BACK NOW! YOU FUCKING BASTAR-"

"Hey."

Aomine looked down to notice a teal-haired girl pouting.

"We're still going, right?"

Touou's ace was still angry, but that would be the perfect way to get his revenge. Bakagami had to pay for going with that guy.

He smirked "Hell yeah."

* * *

**Soooooo...**

**Sorry for making Aomine behave like an a**hole... but I think he would never act all caring and loving in that situation: he's still unsure about his own feelings, while on the other side he's still somehow attracted to girls, so he's living a harsh inner-conflict... plus he's damn jealous.**

**And sorry about the yelling, I can already see many of you won't appreciate it, but I think it's suited in this case, since they're both going overboard (especially Aho)**

**Anyway I'm even sorry about what will happen in the next chapter(s).**

**MORE TO COME: Aomine and the girls vs. Kagami and Josh: who won? The storm has just started, and someone _had_ warned someone else... right?**

**Thanks for reading this story! I'd be glad if you left a review or add it to your favs/follows :) Thanks *bows* **

**cya!**

**( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-**


	9. Ch8

**Hello, everyone! **

**Thanks for liking the last chapter! here's the second part! **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB nor its characters

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

CHAPTER 8: **STORM (1)**

_TIME: 00:45 DAY: 07/22/20XX _

"That fucking idiot..." Aomine unlocked the door to his room. "Hey girls, I think I need to take a shit. Wait for me on the bed." He looked behind his back at the two busty figures that were making themselves comfortable in the new environment.

Tanya immediately noticed the expensiveness of the apartment.

"Hey, Lucy... this dude must be really rich! This place is damn huge, sis!"

"I know, right!" Lucy was walking around the main room with sparks in her eyes. "Maybe he's the son of some politician! JACKPOT!" She high-fived her friend and they grinned together.

Walking to the bedroom, the red-haired girl spotted a red sports bag on the floor. It was nicely refined and had a tag on a side.

"Kagami"

Tanya turned around and looked at the item. "EEEEEEH?! It can't be! Let me see!" She grabbed the plastic tag, shoving her friend away.

"Oh shit! Do you think he's Kagami's son?! I've heard he's supposed to be good at basketball, but who would have imagined he was taking part in this?!"

"JAAAAAAACKPOOOOT!" They high-fived again.

"We'd better give him some nice service tonight: we can't let such a chance go to waste." Lucy said, taking off her tank top and her miniskirt, exposing her black, lacy lingerie that hardly restrained her exploding chest.

"Of course we won't." Tanya smirked and stripped, leaving her clothes on the floor and sitting on the bed, resting on her side.

The bathroom's door opened, showing a dark-skinned figure poorly covered by a white, fluffy towel. Small drops of water disappearing in the soft cloth.

"Sorry to make you wait, ladies."

The two, now almost-naked, girls turned and stared at the hot body presented before them, offering him a fancy grin and posing seductively in order to make him enjoy the sight.

Aomine smirked._ Oh, Bakagami! You're definitely gonna regret this!_

* * *

"I'm sorry about this, Josh... I didn't mean to crash at your place."

The blond player's room was smaller than Kagami's, it had plain, white walls and a simple window on the side, nothing like their panoramic view. On one side stood the narrow bed, just as plain.

"No problem, Taiga, really.. There's just one bed, though." Josh rubbed his scalp. Things were getting kinda awkward after their making-out session. It was a great chance for him, of course, but would the redhead agree to go even _further_?

"I don't mind sleeping together." Seirin's ace fell on the bed, nuzzling the pillow, exhausted and still under the effect of the fateful drink.

What? Was Kagami actually _not_ against it?

"You sure?"

"Yeah, we used to sleep together when we were kids too.."

_So this is where he was going... _Josh sighed. "Okay then" He knew that would be his one and only chance to get things going with the redhead, and he wasn't going to miss it. He lifted his t-shirt and threw it on the floor, then did the same with his pants, leaving just his underwear on.

He then sat on the bed, next to Kagami's body, and inhaled. _You can do this, Josh. _He took the hem of the black t-shirt and lifted it up.

Kagami felt foreign fingers on his skin and quickly turned his head around to see what was going on "Hey what are you-"

Josh pressed his lips on his friend's, still playing with Kagami's shirt. Then, noticing the redhead wanted to protest, he pinned his wrists above his head and pushed the guy's chest with his other hand, keeping him in place.

"I'm sorry, it's just... That guy is a fucking bastard! What the hell!"

"Josh, what the fuck are you doing?" Kagami's head was still spinning and aching.

"Forget about him, ok? While we're here, talking, he's screwing the shit out of those girls! On your bed, Taiga!" He looked at him. "I've always liked you, I can make you happier than him."

Seirin's ace placed his hands on his friend's cheeks. "Josh, I'm sorry. I can't force myself to unlike him he's..." He tried to find a word to describe him, but the only ones crossing his mind were insults. Kagami sighed. "He's special."

"Well, it doesn't look like he is to me. He left you to get laid with some random chicks, Taiga! Open your damn eyes!" Josh tightened the grip on the guy's wrists.

"I KNOW THAT ALREADY." Silence fell on the room. Kagami hid his gaze, tilting his head to the side. "I know he's fucking them, I KNOW, OKAY? You don't have to remind me again and again!"

Josh could hear suffocated sobs coming from the tall figure below him.

"Shit." He released Kagami's hands and sat on the edge of the hard mattress. Letting a hand run through his short hair, he sighed again. "I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not." The redhead looked at him and Josh met his gaze. "Okay maybe you are... just a bit, though." He softly laughed between his tears.

"Sorry for making you kiss me at the party... Even though I knew you didn't want to."

"No, everyone would have taken advantage of the situation... I mean, I was shitfaced drunk and mad because of that moron, and now I am half-drunk but still hella mad."

"What are you gonna do about him?" Josh asked.

"I don't even want to think about this shit now, I need to fucking sleep." He wiped the wet drops off his face and took off his jeans, but kept his shirt on. Then he went under the bedsheets, facing the wall.

Josh looked at the laying teen and sighed. "There's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight"

* * *

"Hey..." A soft voice echoed in his thoughts.

He grunted. "Ba..a..mi"

"Daiki, wake up, dear." He felt hands petting his hair, while another warm feeling spread on his side. He lazily opened his eyes.

"Yo, big boy." A pair of teal and sharp eyes greeted him, and just a bit lower he saw white, bare skin.

"What?!" It took Aomine a while to remember the previous night's events.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten about our sweet night..." He felt soft, warm flesh squeezing against his back. Oh he knew that feel: _boobs_.

"Of course not." He offered Tanya a smirk, while reaching to his back to touch Lucy's shoulders.

"You were great last night." The red-haired girl licked his shoulder blade.

"I'm always the best. In _everything_." Eliciting some playful giggles from his partners, Aomine felt the urge to know something.

"Did anyone come? Or knocked? What time is it anyway..?" He was still half asleep, drowning his head in the soft pillow.

Tanya quickly answered. "No one came. And it's already 9:40." With her fingertips, she drew circles on the dark-skin.

"SHIT!" Touou's ace woke up all at once and checked his phone: no missed calls. "What the hell?!" He was expecting the idiot to call him, and the fact that he didn't meant that he was either too busy or too mad. Or both.

He grunted again.

"Hey, what's the problem?" Lucy was keeping herself busy, kissing his earlobe.

Aomine kept staring at his cellphone's screen. "I have some urgent business to attend, you have to go."

"Eeeeh?! Now?"

"Yes. Bye." He got up from the bed and picked up their messy clothes, throwing those at them. "Last night wasn't too bad, but I need some time alone now. I'll call you if I need you."

The two girls looked at each other in disbelief, then they got dressed and walked to the door.

"We shouldn't make him mad... he's already in our grasp, Tanya." The red-haired girl whispered to her friend.

"I know. Let's just leave for now."

"Bye, Daiki." They both winked at him and left the apartment, leaving Aomine alone with his thoughts.

"Fucking shit! What the hell is he doing?! He didn't really go to _that guy_'s room, DID HE?" He was too proud to be the one to call the redhead first, but he was so pissed off he managed to put his pride away for once.

He dialed the number.

.

.

.

User busy.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" He threw his phone against the wall and sat on the couch, holding his head between his hands.

* * *

Kagami pushed his card in and opened the door.

That morning had been quite nice, surprisingly. Josh helped him recover from his short hangover, then the redhead had thanked him and left the room. While walking to his building, Kagami had prepared himself for any possible scenario. Number1: He would enter and find Aomine recklessly humping those two sluts who-knows-where. In that case, it would be so awkward and frustrating (not to mention heartbreaking) he didn't know any way to escape from that while keeping his sanity in control. Scenario Number2: He would find Aomine sleeping on the bed, together with the girls. Again, what could he do? Wake them up like "Hey guys, I'm back! I'm fucking disgusted with you ad with the bed itself, and I'm utterly pissed at you, Aomine, but don't mind me, it's fine!" No way he could pull that off.

Number 3: Aomine was awake, walking around, while the girls had left. That sounded like the best scenario so far, if it wasn't for the fact that they would probably start yelling at each other non-stop. Scenario number 4: Aomine had left, together with the girls. The problem would still be unsolved, of course, but at least he had some time to think things over in a proper way.

He sighed and walked in, but it looked like no one was there.

"Thank goodness." He released his tension and closed the door behind him, but he soon spotted a shadow appearing from the bedroom's door.

"So you're back." Aomine glared at him with his hands crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, and I hope you've changed the sheets, 'cause I have no intention of sleeping on _that_." He wrinkled his nose.

"Bullshit." Touou's ace walked closer to him with a steady pace.

"Hey, calm dow-"

Aomine grabbed him by his collar. "Where did you go last night?" The look in his eyes was the most serious one he'd showed in a while.

"I said calm-"

"Where. did. you. go."

Kagami looked straight in his eyes. "I crashed at Josh's place. Have a problem with that?"

Aomine growled and let go of his grasp, not breaking the eye-contact. "Yes, I do." He walked closer and closer to the redhead, forcing him to move backwards and hit the wall with his back.

He placed a hand on the concrete, next to Kagami's head. "What did you do with him?"

The dark-skinned guy had guts, but Kagami didn't like that side of his cocky behavior at all. And now he was being pushed against a wall, forced to talk, what the hell?! There was no way he would give the bastard the information he wanted that easily. Hot-headed bastard.

He averted his gaze on purpose. "That's none of your business." He could already feel Aomine clenching his fists.

"REALLY?!"

"Really."

"You fucking slept with him?!"

"I already said that's non-"

"ANSWER ME."

Kagami kept his look away from the bluenette's.

"Oh shit. This is fucking ridiculous." Aomine got away from his body and walked in circle a couple of times. Then he faced him again.

"I leave you alone _one_ time and you go fuck random guys?! What the fuck, Kagami!"

"He's not some random guy, and we didn't-"

"GREAT. First that fucking emo-guy, now THIS. Who's next?! Well, at this point I guess anyone would do."

It took him a while to process Aomine's hurtful words, but he knew the guy _probably_ didn't mean that...he didn't, right?

"You've gone insane, Aomine!"

"SHUT UP."

"No, YOU shut up!" Kagami had enough. He pushed Aomine to the wall and faced him. "YOU BROUGHT TWO GIRLS TO OUR ROOM AND FUCKED THEM ON _OUR_ BED!"

"HAH! At least I got laid with _girls_."

"And you didn't even _ask_ ME!" Kagami slammed his hands on the wall.

"Well that's 'cause you were too busy making out with your _friend_"

"I WAS DRUNK, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

"Right, after I had told you NOT TO DRINK"

"DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I'M THE ONE AT FAULT HERE!" Staying this close to him, Kagami could see every mark, every bite those girls had left on that body. _His_ body. "You kicked me out to get laid with some RANDOM WHORES!"

"Yeah, so what?"

"You're disgusting. I shouldn't have asked _you_ to come with me in the first place."

"Oh, REALLY?"

"YES, REALLY. 'CAUSE YOU'RE A FUCKING ASSHOLE, YOU KNOW?!"

"Then why did you ask _me_?"

Kagami averted his gaze. "Because-"

"Because you're a MANWHORE, that's why!" _Wait... what was he saying now?_

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Kagami's jaw dropped. He couldn't even believe his ears.

"It's fine long as you get a dick up in your ass, right? That's why you asked _me_, because I'm the _one_ with the _best_ rod among all of us!"

The redhead was left speechless."WHAT THE.."

"OOOOHOHOHOHOO NOW I SEE!" Aomine started laughing hysterically. "I even see why you were mad about the thing with Kise!"

"HUH?! Why are you talking about THAT NOW?!" How did Aomine know he was upset about Kise?! Had he told him?! WHEN?!.

"You wanted to fuck him first, but you learned I did before you even tried, and you got pissed! SUITS YOU WELL, KAGAMI!"

"Aomine, you've got a loose screw there... I'm trying to have a CIVILE CONVERSATION WITH YOU, yet you're FUCKING DELIRIOUS!"

"Well, you know what?"

_Don't say it. _

"JUST TO BE SPECIFIC, "

_Don't_.

"I said Kise and I were both drunk..."

_Don't._

But Aomine was too (...what was it? Angry, jealous? He didn't know...) to control his mouth. And even though he didn't mean to, he said it.

The words he knew would hurt Kagami the most.

"I NEVER SAID I'VE EVER REGRETTED IT."

The redhead took a step back, looking at his raging rival that was wearing a satisfied smirk on his face.

And his world crumbled.

KiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomine, don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit, KiseandAomineKiseandAomineKiseandAomine, firstimefirstimefirstimefirstime, partyalcoholpartyalcoholpartyalcohol, don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit don'tregretit .

He didn't regret it.

He never did.

Kagami covered his mouth with both of his hands, looking at the bluenette with wide-open eyes. His stomach ached. His head ached. All of him was in sharp pain.

But the guy didn't stop there.

"And the worst of it all," _Don't say it, AOMINE DON'T SAY IT. _His sanity was calling him back, but he couldn't answer, fogged by all the jealousy.

"IS THAT YOU EVEN SAID YOU LIKED ME! WHAHAHAHAHA!" With a loud laugh, Aomine held his stomach, breaking out laughing.

Kagami went from upset to an unknown state of surprise, shock, madness and anger he couldn't describe. His conscience left him and his brain went in auto-pilot mode.

"Where did you hear that from?" He kept a stoic face.

"WHERE?! _You_ told me!"

"When?"

"At your stupid brother's party!"

"Oh..." So that was what had happened there... _Gosh_, he'd messed up.

"Wait.. you KNEW?!" He just realized what that meant.

"Are you deaf?! I said I did!"

"YOU KNEW AND YET YOU DID THAT? YOU'RE _STILL_ DOING THIS TO ME?!" He exhaled a pained breath. "Aomine"

Kagami called his name, and right when the guy faced him, he left a sonore ***SLAP* **on his face. "You're the worst, and this time I mean it."

Kagami ran to the bedroom and gathered his things, filling up the suitcase once again.

Aomine stood there, dumbfounded. He was just as shocked as his rival, if not even _more_. He didn't want to say those things. He didn't mean them. He regretted the thing with Kise. He truly did. And he knew just how much he'd hurt Kagami. He knew how much the teen cared about him, and he knew he'd never sleep with another guy. He knew all of that, and yet...

Seeing the redhead walking past him with his things, he realized the guy was about to leave.

"I'm booking a room on my own. You can keep the king-sized bed, since you _like_ it so much" He opened the door.

"Kagami..." Aomine looked at him with a hurtful expression, but Kagami was still there, facing the opposite side. Maybe he was waiting for an apology? He could just tell him he was sorry and they'd make up.

But words didn't come easy, and his mouth was stuck.

Not hearing anything from his rival, the redhead walked away, closing the door behind him.

And then, since that rainy day of his middle school years, Aomine felt his cheeks getting wet all over again.

* * *

XXX

* * *

"Hello, Mister, how can I help you?" The girl at the reception greeted him.

"Hi, I'd like to book a single room."

"Oh, is your current one not to your liking?"

"No, no! It's awesome, it's just that I'm sharing it with a friend but I'd rather have one on my own, so..."

"Sure! Let me see if there's any available." The annoying typing sound made by the girl was getting right to his head. _Damn_.

"Here we go! Building C, room 18 is available."

_Building C? Well, at least he had Chris and Josh there... _"It's perfect."

"How long are you going to stay there?"

There was no way he was going back with Aomine.

"Three weeks"

"What's your name?"

"Kagami Taiga"

"Oh!" The girl smiled, hearing the familiar last name. "No problem then, we'll call Mister Kagami and-"

"No. _I'_m paying this."

She looked at him with a confused expression. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He sighed and gave her his credit card.

The girl typed the information in the server. "Okay, all done. Here's your new key." She handed him the card.

"Thanks."

"No problem! Enjoy your stay!"

He walked away and noticed a crowd standing in front of the wall.

"What the hell? OH RIGHT!" The teams were out!

He got closer to the board and looked for his name, finding it under the _Ruby Team _column. Luckily, Aomine wasn't in the same team as him, but in the _Sapphire Team. _Apparently they named the groups with gems' definitions. Giving it a better look, Kagami noticed how all the players that had stood out in the previous day's practice were split up in different teams.

"This is going to be an amazing tournament!" For just a second, the thought of facing such great opponents made him forget about his fight with Aomine, and his body released all of his tension.

"Oi, Taiga!" A hand waved.

"Chris, Josh!" He waved back.

"What team are you in?"

"Ruby. What about you guys?"

"I'm in the Amber Team." Josh replied, not looking at him. Things between them still felt somehow awkward.

"I'm in the Quartz Team! By the way, where's Aomine?" Chris looked around his friend to spot the tall figure.

Kagami looked down. "He's... still sleeping."

Josh knew something had happened between them that morning, but he chose not to ask any details. He did't want to get his friend even more upset.

"Oh, I see." Chris smiled. "But why do you have your suitcase with you?"

"Errr... this is..."

"I asked him to let me see his Japanese clothes. You know I'm curious about different fashion styles." Josh covered for him, and Kagami offered him a soft smile.

"Yeah..."

"Cool!"

Was Chris naive? Or was he too sharp but also very discrete? He didn't know. Kagami looked under his new team's name to check his schedule: practice started the next day.

"Okay, well I have to go. See you"

"Bye"

Kagami left the place and went to the C building. His new room was just like Josh's: plain, but he wasn't a picky person. Of course, nothing like the huge-panoramic apartment he used to share with the blue-haired idiot, but anything went for him.

He arranged his things around the place and then fell on the bed, dead tired.

The trip wasn't being exceptionally good so far. The practice and the players were great, but he was hoping to have some fun times with his rival, he was looking forward to those. Instead, they fought, yelled at each other, and the bastard had said some pretty hurtful things to his face.

That he was a manwhore.

That he didn't regret doing it with Kise.

That he _knew_ he liked him. And _even though he knew_, he still did all of that. The bastard knew he was going to hurt him with those words, and he did it on purpose.

"Shit..." He rolled on the bed and shoved his face in the pillow, soaking the fresh cloth with his warm tears. "...You asshole."

* * *

Practice started early, their and the other three teams were running laps around the court. His teammates didn't look too bad, and he could say they were a balanced team, just like the other ones. That day they were practicing with a female coach, and she was straining the hell out of them, making them go through a two-hours stretching session and infinite jumping and dribbling exercises, not to mention the shooting. Kagami was completely focused on the training, he needed to, both because he wanted to get stronger, and (mostly) because he didn't want to let his thoughts drift somewhere else. Luckily enough, no one he knew was among the teams practicing with him.

"Okay, weaklings! Let's start a match! Two teams on each half-court, the first to get 50 points wins." The woman whistled.

It was Ruby vs. Zircon and Emerald vs. Cobalt. When the teams started giving their all into the match, it was way too clear who the strongest team was, in both cases. Emerald and Ruby won against their opponents, scoring 51-23 and 50-35. Kagami knew his team was strong, but perhaps Emerald was even stronger. His power forward was the tall and big guy he'd spotted the first day, and, on the court, he looked like a wild monster, or maybe like a wall, or both. He could be even stronger than Murasakibara.

"Okay, bean sprouts, see you tomorrow. And don't forget to extra-train!" The woman waved at them and walked away.

The sweated players headed to the locker rooms, drying themselves off and taking a refreshing shower. Once he was done, Kagami put his things back in the bag and exited the place. He was glad he'd given his best during practice, he could feel the stress coming out of him, releasing him from its oppressing grasp, and the redhead felt exhausted but happily satisfied.

"Hey"

He noticed the tall guy was walking beside him and had drawn his attention to him.

"Yo." Kagami grinned.

"You're really good at jumping, man! Do you play in an official tournament?" The big guy and him were now walking together.

"I play in my country's school-tournament. What about you? You're a monster on the court."

"Whahahahahah! Thanks, man!" He slapped Kagami's back, making him stumble forward. "Sorry... I'm no good at managing my strength outside the court."

"No problem." Kagami smiled. The guy looked scary on the court, but he sounded like a nice person. He had short, blond-but-almost-white hair, and very clear eyes. "Are you from northern Europe?"

"My father is, how did you know?!"

"You look like a friend of mine. He's from northern Europe." It was his father's colleague, but whatever.

"Cool!" The big guy grinned. "I'm Walter Scott by the way."

"I'm K.. Taiga." He didn't want to make friends using his last name's reputation.

"I'm looking forward to facing you on the court, Taiga." He offered him a fist bump.

"Me too, Walter." Kagami gladly accepted the gesture.

Walter noticed his watch and widened his eyes. "Oh, shit! I gotta go, see ya!"

Kagami waved at him. He was a cool guy, they'd make good friends.

Then his phone rang and it was his stepbrother again.

-Oi, Kaito. Do you have to call me every day?- He laughed. -Do you miss me this much?-

-Of course I do, Taiga!- His stepbrother cried out on the phone.

-I know, I'm just kidding. What's the matter?-

-How's it going? Did anything happen?-

-No, I've just finished practicing and I'm damn exhausted-

-Oh, I see. Thank goodness my bad feeling was nothing serious...-

-What bad f.. OH...- He remembered something: _Aomine_.

-Taiga? Are you there?-

-Yeah, yes...-

-What happened?-

-Nothing, really. I'm just tired...- He sighed.

-...-

-Kaito?-

-Nothing... bye.-

-.-.-.-.-

"What? He hung up?!" Kagami stared at his cellphone.

* * *

"Dad, I'm calling Taiga!"

"Aren't you stressing him out with these calls?"

"No way!" Kaito grabbed the phone and typed the number.

-...-

-...-

-...-

-Oi, Kaito. Do you have to call me every day?- He heard a laugh on the other side of the call. -Do you miss me this much?-

-Of course I do, Taiga!- He cried out on the phone.

-I know, I'm just kidding. What's the matter?-

-How's it going? Did anything happen?-

-No, I've just finished practicing and I'm damn exhausted-

-Oh, I see. Thank goodness my bad feeling was nothing serious...-

-What bad f.. OH...- He couldn't hear his brother's voice anymore.

-Taiga? Are you there?-

-Yeah, yes...-

-What happened?-

-Nothing, really. I'm just tired...- He heard him sigh on the phone.

"Kaito, come here a sec."

He walked over to where his dad was reading an e-mail. "It looks like Taiga has moved out of his room. They kindly noticed me about this even though he payed for it himself."

"What the..."

-Kaito?-

Had his brother moved out of that luxury apartment? Why? How?! Oh...

That bad feeling...

-Nothing... bye.- He hung up.

Kaito held his phone, tightening the grip. "I remember warning you _twice. _This time you're not gonna get away."

* * *

**Soooo...**

**What did you think of this chapter? I'm sorry for breaking everyone's heart so badly :c **

**After finishing this, I hope you understand why I decided to split it up. I feel that if I published the previous one and this one as ONE chapter, it would end up being messy and crappy, Idk... it's just a feeling. **

**Thanks for supporting this story :D *Smooch***

**MORE TO COME:**** A rampaging Kaito is coming! You'd better watch out...**

**Please review!**

**cya!**

**( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-**


	10. Ch9

**Hello, everyone!**

**Thanks for your awesome reviews, seriously :') THEY MADE MY DAY. (Especially the ones about Kaito killing Aomine, I LOVE YOU GUYS)**

**Here's the ninth chapter, I hope you like it! I'm feeling so stupid for publishing this only two days after the eighth, but I can't resist the temptation... :X**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB nor its characters.

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

_CHAPTER_ _9_: **STORM (2)**

_TIME: 8:30 DAY: 07/25/20XX_

**XX**

It was another sunny day of that hot summer. The sun rays entered the room, up to the bed, filtered by the polarizing panoramic glass, that intensified them while making it impossible for people on the outside to see inside the apartment. The curtains were moving softly, like creasing waves, following the wisps of wind penetrating the small slots.

His cellphone rang, waking him up. He raised his hand and dropped it on the small nightstand with a loud noise.

"Who the hell calls at this hour?! Damn." He read the caller's name and grunted. _This woman..._

_-_Dai-chan! You haven't called me _once_ since you left! Shame on you!-

-Satsuki, why the fuck do you always call when I'm sleeping?! Anyway, I've been busy lately, I didn't have time, really.-

-Yeah, sure... probably going after girls right?- He could almost see her pouty face through the phone call, in some way she was right though.

-Shut up, what's up with the team? Any news?-

-We're working hard, and I hope you're following your practice schedule too... How's Kagamin?-

-He's- He sighed and realized something. -I don't really know...-

-What? What do you mean?-

-...-

-Dai-chan?-

-Sorry, gotta go now. Bye.-

He hung up and tilted his head towards the edge of the the pillow.

Three days had passed since their fight, and nothing had changed between them. Kagami kept avoiding him, and every time their paths would cross, he'd change direction and go somewhere else, far from him.

But the truth was that he was feeling like shit after saying those things. Aomine knew he'd hurt him bad, and he wouldn't be surprised to find out the redhead hated him now. He probably did anyway.

_"You're the worst, and this time I mean it"_ Kagami's last words echoed in his mind, his brain, always, always making him remember the asshole he was. He'd slept with two, random girls just to make the guy jealous, and he hadn't even succeeded since his rival went to sleep at his friend's place, the same _friend_ he'd found him making out with at the party. Although he knew Kagami wasn't someone to sleep with random people just to make someone else jealous (unlike him), he couldn't _not_ think the worst had happened, since the redhead was drunk and he didn't trust the blond guy. And the thought of them together pissed him off, and not just a bit, but very, _very_ much. In those three days, he was always following his rival's movements, and he noticed how he kept talking to Josh and Chris with his usual grin on his face. On top of that, a new guy had joined them too, it was the gigantic dude they'd seen on the first day. They looked like the BBFs squad, always walking around together.

Maybe Kagami had moved on. Maybe he'd realized how much of an asshole-ganguro he was and decided to let go of his feelings. What had he done for him, after all? NOTHING. He'd just kept him hanging, then hurt him with the Kise-business, then raised his hopes at Kaito's party, then destroyed them at Saturday's party.

But somehow, he didn't want Kagami to let go of his love for him. Aomine wasn't sure if that was possessiveness or something else, something _more than that, _but he realized how much he cared for the redhead after he walked out that door, _their_ door. Was that a symbolic gesture to say he was walking away from _them, _giving up on his feelings for him? He still wanted to be with him though, to see his cheerful grin everyday, to fight about trivial matters like entering the room first than the other one, stealing burgers, go for a one-on-one. But most of all, he missed _him, _all of him, his presence, his smell, his red locks, his flaming red eyes always up for a challenge.

Aomine was thinking way more than he was used to.

He dressed up and left the room to go to practice with his new team.

But what bothered him the most was the fact that Kagami was damn right about something: even though he knew the redhead liked _him_, he chose to hurt him. Why did he do that? Why did he say those things? And why did he sleep with those sluts just to get him jealous? He needed to find the missing piece of the intricate puzzle of his mind.

He entered the gym and observed his surroundings, immediately noticing a familiar player stretching on the floor.

_Gosh, why_ him_ of all people?!_

Josh spotted him and waved at him, just as a sign of courtesy though. He saw how the redhead looked sad and depressed every day since _that_ day, even if the guy was always forcing himself not to show it.

The coach, an old man with a big white mustache, whistled, announcing the beginning of the training session. The players warmed up and ran across the court to shoot, queuing one after another.

"Now get ready for a quick match: it's going to be Sapphire vs. Amber and Opal vs. Turmaline, the first team that gets 50 points wins."

Aomine and Josh glared at each other: they would settle this their own way.

Sapphire got the tip-off and scored right away, they were surely the strongest team among the ones attending that practice match, but Amber was just slightly weaker, and when Aomine caught a pass, the real fight began. He stared in Josh's eyes, who glared back at him. They both had a reason to go full strength at the opponent. The blue-haired player moved forward, getting past the other players, then stopped in front of his enemy. Josh was waiting for him, his muscles were tensed and ready to snap at any of the guy's movements. Aomine dribbled the ball a couple of times, then he approached the guy, attempting to pass him.

"You're too weak, dude." He glared at the blond figure, sprinting forward. Josh wasn't so kind to let him go past himself, though: with a quick movement, he turned around and touched the ball, that fell off Aomine's hands and rolled away.

"You keep underestimating your opponents." Josh smirked. "Or maybe you just overestimate _yourself_. You can be the best player in Japan, but we're in America here."

"Tch!" Aomine clenched his teeth and ran after the ball.

After a few seconds, they found themselves going against each other again, with Aomine having the ball once again. He carefully looked at the hoop, at the distance between his body and the hanging net, then smirked at the blond opponent. He moved forward, imitating what he'd done just seconds before on purpose, then, just when Josh raised his hand to steal the ball, Aomine let his body fall horizontally towards the floor, making a surprising, formless shot.

"Who's overestimating whom?"

Josh snorted back at him.

The match went on for some minutes, but their level of strength and skill were different: Sapphire beat Amber with a score of 50-37, making Aomine feel proudly full of himself once again.

After taking shower, Aomine left the gym, followed by a blond figure.

"Yo, Aomine."

The bluenette glared at him. "What do you want? You've already lost."

"I know. I just wanted to talk about something."

"If it's about Kagami I don't have anything to say to you." He increased his pace, leaving the guy behind.

"Wait-!" Josh ran after him. "I need to tell you something. I think there's a misunderstanding here-"

"Shut up, I have nothing to say to you after you brought him to your room and fucked the hell out of him"

"WHAT?! Where did you hear that from?!"

"I don't need you to tell me, I can be pretty smart at times, you know?" He looked away. The guy was being damn annoying. He didn't want to be reminded about their fight, he didn't need to. And right when he thought he could feel relieved after the exhausting practice.

Josh sighed. "I don't know where you got that from, but we didn't do anything... I mean, I wanted to, really." He looked at Aomine, who looked back at him. The blue-haired guy_ had to know_ there was already someone after the redhead. "But he didn't want it. He kept saying you were an asshole all night, and we just slept."

Touou's ace looked at him._ So they really didn't do anything... _And if on one side he felt very relieved about that, on the other side it made him feel even more guilty about his one-night stand with those stupid girls.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I like Taiga and I know he likes you, and you seem to know it too. Plus, I'm tired of seeing him wearing that fake smile every day, you can't even imagine how heartbreaking his expression is these days..." He ran a hand through his short hair.

"I don't get your point."_ Oh he got it way too well._

Josh clenched his fists. "Can you... can you just stop being an asshole for ONCE? I'm being the nice guy here, and I'm taking a step back, but if you care about him you should treasure him more, YOU IDIOT!" He touched Aomine's chest with a finger, accusing him.

"I'm..." Aomine sighed. The guy was perfectly right, and he knew that. "I need to go. See ya around" He turned his back at him and waved.

"Hey! YOU!"

"Josh!" Chris appeared beside him. "I finally found you, where the hell did you go? Let's go eat!"

"Yeah, sorry..." _That bastard._

* * *

Aomine unlocked the door. That simple gesture was enough to make his mind go crazy, recalling the unexpected but _perfect_ race he had with Kagami on the first day and all the events before that. Everything made his thoughts go back to him, from his shoes to his toothbrush, that was now alone in the glass.

He lied on the bed and checked his phones: no missed calls.

_What was the idiot doing right now? _He wanted to see him. Aomine rested his arm on his eyes and relaxed, still feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He still needed to write a message to Kise and Kuroko.

**-To: Kise-**

**-**You asked me to write you a message and so I did.

cya.**-**

"He'll probably get mad but I don't give a shit."

**-To: Tetsu-**

**-**Yo, Testu, what's up? Practice is great here, and the place is cool.

I'll call you someday.**-**

Sending that, he concluded he sucked at keeping friendships. The bluenette got up and walked to the main room, turning on the TV. He spent several minutes browsing the channels, but none of them was interesting enough. Without the redhead everything felt boring. It was like Kagami was the soul that used to possess everything, making even the smallest features interesting and enjoyable, with his living force and his grinning. Even the panoramic window didn't feel the same anymore. He remembered how excited they were the first day, looking at the wide, clear glass, observing everything together... now it was just a piece of glass like any other. And it wasn't just the glass: all the forniture seemed to have died after his rival left the place. He'd taken all of the awesomeness away with him, leaving both the apartment and the bluenette _empty_.

He closed his eyes, wishing he could take a nap, but was woken up by a sound coming from the door.

"Shit, who's it at this time?" He got up and froze._ Could it be Kagami? Maybe he'd come to make up._

He hurried to the door and opened it, definitely _not_ expecting a strong, firm hand taking a hold of his neck to pin him to the closest wall.

"YOU." Angry, teal eyes stared into his scared ones.

Aomine tried to talk but the sudden visit from the dark-haired man made his body feel paralyzed.

Kaito tightened his grip around the dark flesh. "What. did. you. do. You'd better explain yourself, Aomine, or else I'm afraid the next time you wake up will be in a cold, white room... if you wake up at all."

"..I-" Aomine gasped for air. "Can't..."

The taller man released his hand and the teen fell on the floor, gasping. "I remember warning you, Aomine. And not once, but _twice_ already." Kaito grabbed his scalp and tilted his head behind with a harsh movement.

"I didn't... do anything..." Aomine looked into the guy's fierce eyes, and for the first time in his life he felt like the _pray_, instead of the predator. He was powerless, helpless, _weak_.

"Oh, really?" Kaito yanked the blue locks.

"The party.. and Josh was..."

The man sighed. "Okay. I'm giving you _one_ chance to explain yourself to me, since I believe there's a rational reason behind this." He released his grasp once again and took a step back. "So?"

Aomine spit on the floor and laughed. _What the fuck?! _"So he's asked his brother to come to the rescue, huh?! You Bakagami..."

Kaito grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. "ONE. CHANCE." His stoic look penetrated Aomine's soul, making him shiver under his frightening tone. "And just so you know, he didn't ask me anything, _I _felt something was off, and it looks like I was fucking right." He punched the wall beside the guy's face.

"Okay, I'll explain!" The teen shoved him away. "There was a party, I drank, he did too, and then-"

"You _know_ what happens when he drinks too much." He glared at him.

"I TOLD HIM NOT TO! He didn't listen to me, okay?! Then I went with some girls and-"

"YOU WHAT?!" Kaito grabbed him by his collar once again and shoved him against the opposite wall. "You fucking know he likes you!"

"I do, but... I was half-drunk, okay?! _Gosh..." _He sighed

"Go on."

"Then I went to look for him and I found him making out with Josh..."

"Josh?! Oh, I see, _that_ Josh... wait, they were making out?!"

"YES."

Kaito relaxed his grip a bit. _What the hell, Taiga?!_ "Then what?"

"Then we left the building and I met them again, and he was all pissed, seeing me with girls, but I was even _more_ pissed because he'd been kissing that fucker! So-"

"SO WHAT?"

"HEY CALM DOWN! I'm getting to it, okay?!" He exhaled. "So I said I was going to take the girls to our room, but I didn't really mean to! But he said he was going to sleep at Josh's place, so I got pissed once again, and so did he. And I..." He was afraid of the consequences of the next line "I ended up fucking those girls."

"HERE?!" Kaito widened his eyes. "AOMINE WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"I know, okay! I know I shouldn't have! Shit! I already feel bad about it, you don't need to pour salt on the wound!"

"Oh I think I do" He tightened his clenched hand on the cloth. "And I'll tell you why: Taiga might be sensitive about certain topics, but he's NOT stupid. He knows what you're like, and he went to the party even though he knew you'd probably spend the night surrounded by girls."

Aomine looked at the man in a confused way. What did he mean by that?

"Don't play dumb with me, boy. What I'm saying is that Taiga had probably foreseen that outcome, and this means something _else_ happened after that, something that involves YOU."

The bluenette widened his eyes. _Oh... SHIT! _

Kaito brought the guy's face close to his. "SPIT. IT. OUT."

Aomine looked away, averting the death glare. "We had a fight, the morning after it happened."

"I KNEW IT. And you said shitty things about him, RIGHT?!"

The younger teen showed a pained expression. He couldn't bring himself to answer that.

"Aomine, you're an asshole. I have no idea why Taiga likes you, really." The man released the boy.

The bluenette looked at him in surprise, he was expecting a harsher treatment from the man. When he raised his look, though, his face met the unpleasant weight of a human hand's knuckles.

Kaito punched him right on his cheekbone, where he knew it hurt the most, eliciting a suffocated gasp from the teen, that hit his back against the concrete wall.

Looking at the guy holding his face in pain, the man walked to the door. "You've hurt him bad, Aomine. The pain you're feeling is nothing compared to his. I don't even want to know what you've told him, since if I did, I'd beat the life out of you, and that would make Taiga hate me for the rest of his life. But I think I saw a small spark of regret and pain in your eyes, meaning you know you've hurt him, so _one_ punch is definitely enough. I highly suggest that you find your answer quickly, or your face will become symmetrical thanks to my _visits_. See you." Kaito left the apartment, slamming the door.

Aomine lied on the floor, touching his swollen cheek. Even the wall wasn't supporting his body anymore. The emptiness he felt was increasing with every second passing by.

"I messed up big time..."

* * *

Kagami looked up to the sky and sighed. How many times had he done that the past few days? Many, for sure. He noticed the white, puffy clouds moving fast in the sky, carried by the refreshening wind, and he felt his anxiety leave him, even if just for a moment. The friends he was waiting for finally showed up.

"Yo, Taiga." Josh walked to him, followed by Chris.

"Hey" Things were going great between them, the incident of that night was easily forgotten... at least by Kagami. He wanted things to go this way, since he was already having a hard time dealing with another business. He was being utterly selfish, but he didn't have time to torment himself about Josh's feelings as well. "How did practice go?"

"Pretty bad, actually. We lost." Josh shrugged.

"What!? You lost?! How can that be! What team were you up against?"

Josh tried not to look in the redhead's eyes while saying the fateful name. "Sapphire."

Kagami widened his eyes "Oh..." He smiled nervously. "They're strong, huh?"

"Yeah, they're like wild beasts."

"I won." Chris looked at them with a cheerful expression.

"Nice, Chris! Who were you up against?"

"Hmmm... I don't remember their team's name, but they were pretty weak actually..."

Kagami ruffled his curly hair "Maybe you were just too strong."

"Hehe, who knows"

They laughed together, it was nice getting along like that, it reminded them of their childhood days.

"Hey, Taiga, doesn't that resemble your stepbrother?" Josh pointed at a figure walking by. The man was leaving light footprint on the shapable gravel, and he casually walked past them.

"That's true.." The redhead had to admit he saw the resemblance. "Speaking of which, you haven't seen him since I moved to Japan, right?"

"No: actually, I met him a couple of months ago. He was at a pub with some friends."

"I see, that's very like him." Kagami looked at the walking man once again. "He sure does look like Kaito, though. Wait a sec." He ran after the man and the closer he got, the more he felt it was his brother.

"Kaito!"

The tall man's body yanked from the surprise. _This is bad. _"Taiga!"

"So it _was_ you. What are you doing here?" Seirin's ace grinned at the thought of his stepbrother paying him a visit.

"Err, I was... checking on your room change. They noticed us about your request so I came here to verify it myself"

"You came all the way here just for that?" The young Kagami raised an eyebrow.

Kaito needed some fast excuse. He hugged his brother. "I missed you soooo much, Taiga! I wanted to see you again!" His arms wrapped around his little brother's back, pulling him closer.

"Damn, I knew it had to be something like this..." Taiga rolled his eyes, faking annoyance, then he smiled at his stepbrother. His being there was the best thing that had happened to him since his fight with the bastard.

The man released the redhead from his hug. "Well, I have to go now, it was nice seeing you again, Taiga" He turned around, but his brother made him stop.

"Hey, what happened to your hand?" It looked red and a bit swollen.

Kaito's face paled. "Well I... tripped. Yes! I tripped and I fell on it. I'm so clumsy hehehe... See you." Kaito waved and ran away as fast as he could.

"See you."

Josh caught up to Kagami, looking at the running man. "So it _was_ him"

"Yup, he was... kinda weird though."

"He's probably worried about work. Let's go eat now, you have a match in a few hours!" He wrapped his arm around Kagami's neck and they walked away together.

* * *

The referee whistled the end of the second quarter.

It was already his second match, and it was kinda late, but he wasn't feeling tired at all. Kagami sat on the bench next to his teammates, drinking some water and drying the sweat off himself. He kept searching through the crowd, searching for a familiar face he missed so much, but there was no trace of it. Every other player in the tournament was there, assisting to the matches to observe his future opponents, everyone but _him_. And what made Kagami feel the worst was the fact that, since Aomine knew his feelings for him, things between them would never stay the same. It was either going further ahead or taking a step back, and according to the bluenette's last words, the second option was more likely to happen.

"Fuck." Kagami rested his elbows on his knees and breather heavily. It had been a stressful day, but the matches were a great way to release the tension gathered in his body.

When the second quarter started, he had his time to shine. Riko was right: he had to learn how to improve his skills even when Kuroko wasn't around to play as his shadow, to shine bright thanks to his own skills. And with his high jumps and his powerful dunks he did just that, making everyone cheer for his team and, at the same time, fear the moment they would face them on that same court.

He wasn't the only one to win, though: his team was the best backup he could ask for, always helping him and making sure he would score, catching all the rebounds and passing the ball to him. He had promised himself he'd never become like the members of the GoM ended up being, full of themselves without relying on their teams.

Ruby won against Citrine with a score of 80-77. It was a great match, and the opponents were very strong, making the challenge even more exciting.

After the match, he walked the lonely path on the green grass that was now wet due to the humid night, thinking about the meeting with his brother. There was definitely something off with Kaito, he could feel it, being his stepbrother. He looked oddly nervous about something, plus that swollen hand... It reminded him of Aomine's fist after he punched Haizaki, to defend... Kise.

He sighed. How come everything ended up making him feel worse than he already was?

Kagami felt so lucky he got to meet with his brother, and the man happened to be right there, next to the F building! What a coincidence!

... _wait_.

Aomine punched Haizaki and got a swollen hand.

Kaito had a swollen hand.

Aomine's room was in the F building.

Kaito was near the F building.

"SHIT! Could it be...? But how did Kaito know?!"

Kagami ran to the high-classed building and took the stairs, the elevator would be too slow: as far as he knew, his brother could be very dangerous when he was mad. He reached the right floor and breathed heavily, still tired from the two consecutive matches. He walked to the room and knocked on the door.

* * *

The bluenette was sitting on the couch, pressing a small block of ice to his cheek, when he heard a powerful knock on the door.

"Aomine, are you there?"

That was Kagami's voice, the voice he'd been missing for the last three days.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Are you okay?"

Did the guy know he got punched by his demon-like brother? "Yeah, I'm okay" The last thing he wanted was Kagami entering and pitying him even after he'd acted like an asshole.

"Are you sure? Do you need anyth-"

"Go away. I don't wanna see you." Worst. Acting. Ever. He was being a bastard once again, _great_. But it was the only chance he had to make Kagami go away.

"...I see."

Aomine heard footsteps walking away from the door, and accepting the fact that his rival was gone again, he sighed, feeling the emptiness eating him up once again. Now the room felt like a place outside of space and time, where he was destined to stay alone, isolated forever.

"Shit, Bakagami." He looked down, resting the hand with the ice on his knee. "Now I'll miss you even more."

* * *

**SOOOO...**

**What did you think of this chapter? Sorry for not killing Aomine hahahaha I still need him to complete the story. *such business***

**WARNING: In a few chapters THE RATING WILL CHANGE TO "M" (brace yourself, smut is coming). **

**MORE TO COME:**** Will Ahomine make up his mind? Will Bakagami forgive him? And strong basketball players are on their way... hm...**

**Thanks for reading this! Please, review! :)**

cya!

( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-


	11. Ch10

**Hello, everyone! **

**Thanks for your reviews :3 I always LOVE reading them (And consider that I mostly do that at school, so you can imagine my classmates giving me weird looks whenever I check my phone and squeal... _WHATEVER_) And thanks for wishing me luck with my finals! I really appreciate it! **

**Here's the tenth chapter! I hope you like it. (:**

**PLEASE, JUST THIS TIME, READ MY NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER (It's important)**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB nor any of its characters.

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

CHAPTER 10: **HAND**

TIME: 06:59 DAY: 07/27/20X

He was falling. All around him, nothing but darkness. He wished he could reach the bottom, but his body kept going down, drowning. He couldn't breath, he couldn't move. He could only see darkness, that was like not seeing at all. He closed his eyes and waited, waited, waited, but the bottom of that dark and unknown pit never came. His body was falling with at unbearable slowness.

Then a spark of light came.

It was bright, lightening up all the shadow surrounding him. But it was a warm light, it felt almost human, _alive_. Once the darkness had faded away, the warm light became a single ray, then a hand, extended to him. But did he want to take it? Was he ready to? It had dissipated all the darkness, then why was he wavering?

Because his falling wasn't ending. Would it, if he held on to the bright hand? How could he be sure?

He kept falling down, and the darkness came back, eating his being once again, together with the warm hand.

**..**

Aomine woke up, sweating and breathing heavily. It was the third night he'd dreamed of that same scene, with the same, disturbing, ending. What did it mean? He had no idea...

The bluenette got up, moving the sheets aside, and took a cold shower. The same process had been going on every night since the dream had started, and it was beginning to worry him, plus, his cheek still hurt from Kaito's heavy punch. He needed to see through that dream, and although he didn't want to, he decided to ask the only person he thought would know about dreams and paranormal-like things.

He grabbed his phone.

-Aomine, something must have happened for you to call me this early in the morning, nanodayo-

-Do you know anything about dream interpretation?-

-Aomine, I'm interested in horoscopes, I'm _not_ a wizard, but if you want to know, Oha-asa keeps telling "Virgo will have bad luck these days, but today something will change, make up your mind".-

He sighed. -I don't care about my star sign-

-Did you have a nightmare?-

-Something like that... it's the third time already-

-I see, what's it about?-

-I see myself falling, in complete darkness, then a hand appears and I don't take it, instead I keep falling down...-

-...you don't need to contact a dream interpreter for this, nanodayo.-

Aomine raised an eyebrow. -What?!-

-It probably means you have to take a chance on something presented before you, instead of running away from it... Just act natural, stop overthinking. It sounds so weird to tell _you_ not to overthink though, maybe you're not even thinking _at all._-

-I see...-

-If you're done, I'm going back to sleep.-

-Sure. See you.-

-Bye. Oh, and Leo will have troubles today, tell your friend to watch out from suspicious people, nanodayo.-

-...- _Kagami? Suspicious people? No way_. -I'll keep that in mind.-

-You'd better- And the green-haired teen hung up, leaving Aomine even more confused about what to do.

"Take a chance... Kagami and suspicious people... Shit." He sighed and jumped o the bed with wide-open arms, letting his limbs collapse on the soft mattress. "My life's a mess." He closed his eyes and drifted off to a deep sleep.

When he woke up, it was already nine o'clock. Aomine realized he was incredibly late and dressed up, he didn't even have time to go to the cafeteria and have breakfast. Thinking about it, it was really a shame that the expensive kitchen in the apartment had not been used by the redhead yet, his meals tasted the best.

He hooked the bag on his shoulder and walked out the building, almost running, in order not to be late for practice. Then the routine started.

The coach had them line up and throw free shots, dunks, and layups, and all the four teams exceeded the expectations, making perfect shots. The results were already neatly visible, and even if he didn't feel any different, Aomine noticed how his speed and his reflexes had been improving non-stop since the first day. His accuracy had sharpened as well. After the daily training session, the white-haired coach called the bluenette out.

"Aomine Daiki, can I talk to you in private?"

The dark-skinned teen widened his eyes and followed the man outside the building, under everyone's and Josh's surprised stares.

"I think you have great potential. You should think about moving to America in the near future, it might even be that someone will contact you by the end of your training here." The man smiled, but right after, his expression turned serious. "But you should know something: the professional career is nothing like this training. It's not just about liking basketball, it's about enduring the pressure of the games, the strong opponents, but most of all, the medias and the public expectation, and I've experienced it firsthand." The man looked at the horizon line that lost itself in the blue sky. "When people expect you to be perfect, there's no time for your private life: you start only existing on the court, _for_ the court. They won't care about Aomine Daiki as a person, but as a mere tool to win matches and earn more money, and I'm referring to the sponsors, in the specific."

The bluenette listened carefully to the wise man.

"Hahaha, don't look at me like that, I did't mean to scare you."

"I'm not scared."

The man smiled. "I'm telling you because most of the players here wish to become professional players, but fame has its pros and cons too. I've seen many of them breaking down after a few months, with their minds completely broken, their dreams shattered."

"I understand."

"Good. Tell this to your friend too."

"My friend?" Aomine gave him a confused look.

"The one with the red hair. He was with you on the first day, I'm sorry, I thought you were friends."

Touou's ace looked down. "Well, yeah we..." What were they now? Could they still be considered as friends?

"Go, now. You have to relax before tonight's match." The man rested his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Think about what I've told you."

"I will, thanks, Mister."

The old man smiled and walked into the gym once again, leaving Aomine alone on the outside. Did he really want to become a professional? It sounded great, but after that talk he'd started to reconsider it, even though he'd been always looking forward to it. He snorted and looked up, but his eyes were caught by a flaming red spot in the distance.

Kagami...

The redhead was with the white-haired giant, probably going to practice since they were holding on to their sports bag. So they practiced together... Aomine looked at the tall guy, they were talking and smiling at each other as if they were best pals, and he felt something hurt inside his chest.

"Shit, what's this now?!" He felt his stomach become heavy, and the more he looked at the two of them walking together, the heavier it became. He didn't like that guy, at all. Just like he didn't like Josh and the emo-guy, it was that sinister and annoying feeling once again.

Then he remembered Midorima's warning about the suspicious person. And the guy looked _definitely_ suspicious to him.

Aomine walked their way, watching from afar the guy's movements. The tall dude said something and the redhead laughed, making Aomine's jaw drop to the floor. _What the hell?!_ Kagami was supposed to feel sad and depressed after the fight with him, he couldn't have replaced him already!

_Or could he?_

They entered the gym and disappeared inside, but the bluenette wasn't giving up. It annoyed him, but he had to admit the Midorima's predictions were always damn accurate, even _too_ accurate.

He forgot about relaxing for his own match, and waited for the other teams' practice to start. Once it did, he dropped his bag on the floor and watched from outside the door.

He noticed his rival, and suddenly he felt _alive_ (Because he knew he _was_ alive, but he had never _felt_ it). Looking at the redhead dominating the scene, supported by his teammates, made him wake up to a new, unexplainable feeling. He followed Kagami's movements as he dribbled, ran to the other half of the court and jumped, then dunked the ball in the hoop, making everyone cheer in happiness. He was looked up to even by his opponents, everyone seemed to admire his overwhelming excitement and strength. After scoring, he offered his teammates his signature grin, that made the bluenette feel all fuzzy inside. He felt his heart beating faster. _Oh no... _He'd missed the guy's smile so much, and he hadn't even realized it. He could hear the organ pounding in his ribcage, as if it wanted to break it to flee outside. His breath quickened, and the more he looked at Kagami, the more he felt the unknown feeling.

Until he realized he'd been staring at the running teen for half an hour without even realizing it. Aomine ran a hand through his hair. _It couldn't be that he... could it?_ He looked at Kagami's jumping figure once again and felt a whirl inside his stomach, other than the pounding heart, and his eyes widened.

"What the fuck is happening to me?" He looked at his belly and placed a hand on it, feeling his insides squirm. _Gosh_, he almost looked like a pregnant woman.

"Hello there, how can I help you?" A middle-aged woman appeared before him, startling the teen. She looked very professional, with her black hair tied in a bun and her sharp spectacles on her nose. She was also wearing a white shirt and black pants.

"Oh, I..." _Shit! it was the coach! _

_"_You can watch the practice inside, you know? It's full of free seats here. I've noticed you've been standing there for quite a while."

"No, I-"

"Aomine?!" Kagami and the other players had followed the woman's steps with their eyes.

"Oh, I see, you came to see your friend. Well, I'm sorry but practice isn't over yet, if you want you can take a seat inside, but no talking, got it?" The woman walked away.

"No, actually, I need to go." He turned around.

"Aomine, wait!" The redhead ran to him, but the woman stopped him.

"No talking, Taiga! Keep practicing!"

"But-"

"No buts."

Aomine started walking away, but not before giving the white-haired giant a death glare. He was still suspicious of him.

* * *

Walter was a good guy, a bit clumsy at times, but always funny. He could always make the redhead smile, even when he was the saddest, even when he was thinking about _him_.

They entered the gym together, hoping for their practice to be as good as it usually was. Kagami looked around him. Oh, he loved that feeling, the feel of players getting ready to practice, stretching on their own even without the coach's request. Those guys were all so competitive and professional it made him feel even more excited about the whole thing.

He smiled at the white-haired friend. "Work hard."

"You too." Walter grinned back.

"STOP TALKING AND GET TO WORK, especially the _Ruby Team_, who has a match tonight." The female coach walked to the center of the court, looking at the teams. "Start with the stretching and some free throws, then we're going for a match straightaway. We need to track down your improvements as soon as possible. Got that?"

"YES!" Everyone answered to the strict woman.

"Good, now start!"

Practice started and the players helped each other stretching their limbs, while some others started dunking and shooting at the hoop. When the time for a match came, the coach decided to mix up the teams and let everyone exercise with random teammates.

"You have to be fast in understanding your teammates' strong and weak points. That will also help you with your opponents."

Kagami thought that was a great strategy, it could also help players adapt to different styles of basketball. When the ball ended up in his hands he dribbled, inning past his opponents, then jumped high and scored with a perfect dunk. When he landed, he turned around and grinned at his teammates, who smiled back and congratulated him.

After his team scored a couple of points more, something happened. The coach walked away from the court, headed to the door and opened it. She looked like she was talking to someone, but who could it be? She was so strict with practice she would never let anyone distract her from the match. The players walked over, hearing the conversation, and a dark figure appeared behind the door, making the redhead halt.

What was his rival doing there? Kagami looked at the dark figure walking away. Did he watch him practice? Maybe he wanted to talk... But he still couldn't believe it: for once it was Aomine going to him, and not the opposite. The redhead stood there, frozen, losing himself in his thoughts, until a friendly hand hit his back.

"Ouch! Hey!" He turned around glaring at the culprit, who turned out to be Walter.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt, but you were stuck, Taiga."

"Oh, no...actually thanks." He didn't need the bluenette to mess with his mind even more. He had to focus on what he was doing and on that night's match. Still, the guy was there, and the coach said he'd been there for a while, so he really was observing him... No. Knowing him, Aomine was probably just interested in his future opponents' play, it was just a mere coincidence he was there... _or was it?_

"TAIGA! HEAD IN THE GAME!"

"Yes, sir!"

**XX**

So the match came, and the opponents weren't some easy ones: the _Hematite_ _Team_ had very strong players. Even so, _Ruby_ wasn't going down easy. After an exhausting first quarter, Kagami dribbled and evaded the defense's tight block, faking to the right, than he passed the ball to the team, and the other power-forward ended the second quarter with a layup. When the timer buzzed, the players almost collapsed on the bench. The tournament wasn't an easy one to begin with, and the further they got, the stronger their opponents would be. They needed to practice more.

Kagami looked for his water bottle, but he couldn't find it anywhere.

"What the hell!? I remember leaving it here!"

"What's the matter, Taiga?" A teammate of his asked him.

"I can't find my water bottle"

"Oh, I see... Sorry I don't see it anywhere."

"Me neither, what the fuck!" He was damn thirsty, so he went to the locker rooms to drink from the bathroom's sink (still better than nothing, right?).

Opening the door, he found his precious bottle on the floor, with its liquid all spilled on the cold tiles.

"What the..." He raised his look and noticed a dark-skinned player resting leaning on the wall. "Aomine?"

* * *

After his own match had ended, with his team winning, of course, Aomine had walked straight to the redhead's one. He couldn't shake off the feeling something bad was going to happen. Walking inside, he saw just how many people were watching the match. The seats were almost full, and everyone seemed excited about the game so far, the two teams were very strong. The bluenette spotted his rival and felt the fuzzy feeling again. _Gosh, stop it! _Then he noticed someone approaching _Ruby's_ bench, and that shouldn't be allowed. He walked down the steps near the seats and stepped on the perimeter of the court. A lean figure sneaked near the wooden plank and grabbed something from it, then walked outside from the main door.

Aomine followed the suspicious person outdoor and stopped when he heard some voices.

"Did you take it?"

"Yessah!"

"Good job, bro. He'll pay."

"Yeah! He's always grinning like an idiot... that fucker!"

"He pisses me off so much! Our coach is always saying how that woman keeps bragging about his jumps. Unbelievable! Does he think he's the best player here?! HAHAHAHAHAH what a loser."

"What kind did you take?"

"This kind just makes your mind dizzy. This time is a warning, but next time he'll go down for real."

"Great."

The bluenette watched the scene and held himself back from beating the two twins to death. He needed to keep calm and think about the best thing to do. Aomine observed as one of the brothers opened the bottle, while the other one poured in a suspicious, yellow powder.

_Those motherfuckers! _They wanted to make Kagami screw it up and lose the match using some weird drug! Aomine took out his phone and took pictures of the guys fiddling the water's content. Once he took a satisfying amount, he walked over to them.

"Give me that." He threatened them with a death glare.

The two players turned around. "Oh, look! It's the Japanese playboy! I guess you had fun last Saturday, we _saw_ you getting it on with those chicks." One of the twins smirked.

"That's none of your business. And I'm glad _my_ fun doesn't include some twisted methods like yours." He looked at the bottle with a disgusted face.

"This is just what he deserves. Look, it's better for both of us if he loses: another strong opponent taken down." The other twin explained.

"You should take 'em down on the court, not with that. Now give it here."

"HAH?! You crazy?! No way: he's gonna drink this and lose."

Aomine inhaled. "Give it here, it's my last warning." He closed his eyes to keep the focus.

"Booohooo very scary, really." The twins mocked him, laughing together. But they reap what they sow.

The bluenette kicked one of them in the side, making him fall on the grass, holding his ribs in pain. "Y-You..YOU'RE INSANE!"

"You're the insane ones here." Aomine looked at the other twin, that was still holding the bottle. "Drugging other players, you are scum."

"No! Stand back!" The player ran inside and hid in the locker room, but Aomine followed him and pinned him to the wall. Then he slapped the bottle away from his hands, making it fall on the floor, spilling the content.

"Don't you ever try doing this again. GOT IT?"

"Y-yes." The twin looked at him with frightened eyes, but the bluenette punched him nonetheless, knocking him out.

Looking at the unconscious body on the floor, he realized he'd screwed up.

"Dammit!" If anyone knew about that, he would probably be suspended or even expelled from the training. Just as he thought so, he heard the buzzer that set the end of the second quarter, followed by a sound of steps coming closer.

"SHIT! SHITSHITSHITSHIT!" He didn't have anywhere to hide, so he chose to stand there and wait for the catastrophe to happen, he could always defend himself saying the twins wanted to drug a player, he had proof!

The door opened, and the person he least expected to see entered the room. He watched as Kagami noticed the bottle on the floor, recognizing it as his own, and then their looks met.

"Aomine?"

He nervously looked at his rival. "...Yo."

The redhead got closer to him. "What the hell are you doing here? And why the fuck is my water bottle on the floor?!" Kagami lowered himself to pick it up.

"Stop!" Aomine grabbed his wrist, preventing the guy from reaching the plastic object. "It's been drugged"

"Drugged?!" Kagami looked at him in disbelief.

"YES. It was him, together with his twin brother." The dark-skinned player pointed at the unmoving body to the side.

"Oh Gosh!" The redhead widened his eyes. "Aomine! Did you kill him?!"

"Of course not, idiot! I just punched him! It's not my fault he's so weak."

"What if someone finds out about this?! You'll get in trouble, Ahomine!"

"Nah, I took pictures of them pouring something in the bottle." He showed him the photos. "They wanted you to lose, since you're one of the strongest players."

"What the hell..." Kagami couldn't believe his eyes, looking at the pictures. Those guys were sick in the head! "Thanks, man! I'd be feeling like shit right now if you didn't stop them."

"No problem."

Silence fell on them and the atmosphere turned awkward. It was the first time they talked after their fight, after all.

But Kagami wanted answers. He could feel the tension between them, but his rival wasn't evading the situation, meaning he wanted to talk about it too.

"So.. uhm..." He looked away. "What were you doing outside the gym today? And what are you even doing here? Hasn't your match just ended?"

"How do you know I've just played a match?" Aomine raised his eyebrow.

There was no way Kagami was telling him he was keeping himself updated with _Sapphire's_ daily schedule. "Answer my question first."

Aomine snorted. Talking to the redhead was making him feel even sicker than before, his breath fastening, his stomach hurting, his eyes roaming all over his rival's body. But he had no excuse for not telling him the del reason behind his concern.

"Midorima called me this morning" HE was the one to make the call, but Kagami didn't need to know that. "He said Leo had to be careful around suspicious people, so I checked on you, and it looks like I did the right thing." Aomine looked at the twin lying on the floor.

Kagami felt himself smiling like an idiot. The bluenette was worried about him and he'd been watching over him all day long... but at the same time, he felt sad that was the only reason he'd come to see him.

"Was it just because of that?" The redhead looked into his rival's eyes, penetrating them.

And Aomine didn't want to screw it up this time. He'd tell him his true feelings.

"No." He took a breath. "It was also because I've been missing you. And I feel like shit after what happened." He didn't flee from the deep gaze, and noticed how Kagami's expression relaxed and reddened.

Not seeing that coming, Kagami was stunned, blushing, repeating those words into his mind. _Was it true? Did he actually miss him? _

"I..."

But Aomine surprised him again, pulling him in a tight hug. "Kagami." He placed a hand on the redhead's nape, pulling him closer.

The redhead didn't know what to think, what to do. It felt so surreal he couldn't believe it was really happening.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I'm an asshole, I know, I'm the worst." Aomine tightened the embrace, hiding his face in his rival's neck. He kept holding the friend like he was his most precious person in the world, _which he probably was_.

"Aomine..." The redhead couldn't believe it. The bluenette had realized he was wrong and was feeling sorry...he still couldn't forget what his rival had said to him, but seeing Aomine's proud character breaking down in front of him like that meant the guy was _truly_ feeling bad about it.

Aomine tightened the grasp, expressing all his frustration and his affection in the gesture. He wished that all his thoughts, his regret, his new and unknown feeling were conveyed in his arms, that held the other player tight, not letting him go.

Feeling his beloved friend holding him so dearly, Kagami was about to wrap his arms around the strong back in a desperate embrace. He also needed and wanted to let the other know about his deepest feelings for him, that went beyond a simple liking. But the buzzer set the beginning of the third quarter.

"Oh SHIT!" The redhead widened his eyes and heard his coach calling his name from the outside. "I..."

"Go beat their asses." The bluenette released him with a soft smile, and Kagami ran outside the locker room feeling his body on fire.

"TAIGA! Where the hell did you go?!" The evil woman scolded him.

"I'm sorry I had... stomach problems, you know... the adrenaline..." _Gosh! What kind of embarrassing things was he saying now!?_

_"_Whatever... Go get them!" She slapped his back and Seirin's ace entered the court.

Feeling Aomine watching him, Kagami gave his best on the court, and _Ruby_ won with the gap of 95-78, beating the opponents though their strength. The final two points were scored by the redhead and his meteor jam, that made him fly to the hoop under everyone's surprised eyes.

* * *

"That last dunk was nice." Touou's ace was walking beside the winning team's ace, looking up at the night sky. A fresh and delightful wind was blowing, making the tussocks tilt their hem to a side in a waving motion.

Kagami placed his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Thanks."

Aomine smiled back. "So..." He didn't know how to ask it. "About your new room, do you think you still need it?" He stopped walking and looked at the redhead.

Seirin's ace averted his gaze. He was happy things were almost back to normal with his rival, but he still wasn't ready to sleep on _that_ bed again. Those strong words still echoed in his mind, together with the party's aftermath...

"I've booked it for three weeks, but I guess I can just give the card back on Sunday and go back to..." _Why was he blushing?! _"...our room"

"Oh, okay." Aomine looked down. "I'm truly sorry about all those things I said..." He sighed.

The redhead looked away. "Yeah, well they were pretty hurtful to me... But don't worry, I knew you didn't mean them." _At least he hoped so._

"You're right, I didn't." They looked at each other for some moments.

Kagami walked closer to him and remembered something. "Hey, did you happen to meet Kaito the other day?"

Aomine shivered at the man's name. "Kaito? Why would he be here?"

"I met him."

_Shit_.

The redhead observed his face. "Isn't your cheek a bit...swollen?" He gently touched it, but Aomine took a step back.

"No, this is..."

"Aomine." Kagami took a step towards him with a serious look.

"This isn't, he just-"

"What did he do?" Seirin's ace crossed his arms on his chest and glared at his rival.

"We just...talked." Aomine looked away.

"And you got a swollen cheek from a talk. Nice excuse, really."

The bluenette snorted.

"He punched you, didn't he?"

The dark-skinned guy kept averting his gaze. "...Yeah, but he-"

"_Good_."

"Huh? WHAT?!" Aomine widened his eyes._ Did the guy jut say it was good that his brother punched him? What the hell, Kagami!_

"He did the right thing. I would have done the same." Kagami shrugged, smirking.

"You bastard!"

Aomine tangled his rival's feet with his own, making him fall on the grass, then threw himself at him and they started wrestling on the cold surface. Kagami tried to resist the guy's strong grip, and managed to reverse their position, but just then the bluenette bit his arm, distracting him and hovering him once again.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Kagami pouted, wriggling.

"All is fair in love and war" _Wait, wasn't it different the last time he said it?_

"Is this love or war?" Kagami smiled at him, and Aomine grinned.

"Heh, who knows."

Their struggling went on for some minutes, and the redhead made his rival lose balance, inverting their places again. They stopped wrestling, both exhausted after the practice and their respective matches, and stood still, breathing heavily. They could feel the gentle breeze under that summer night's starry sky, together with the wet but soft grass on their skin.

Kagami was the first to get up, and with a smile he extended his hand to the idiot.

"Let's go."

Aomine looked at him.

Looked at that bright, warm hand reaching for him in the darkness.

And he took it.

* * *

**Sooooo...**

**That was the 10th chapter :) What are your impressions? Let me know with a review!**

**MORE TO COME: Aho's feelings are getting more and more transparent... :D **

******IMPORTANT PART: As I said in the last chapter, the rating of this story _might _(is almost-definitely going to) change to M! So if you can't find it anymore just look among the M-rated ones :D (Brace yourselves, smut is coming)**

**That being said, thanks for reading this, I'll see you next chapter!**

**cya!**

**( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-**


	12. Ch11

**Hello, everyone! **

**Sorry for the late update, I'm busy with my finals :S **

**Thanks for wishing me luck! And thanks for your reviews :3 **

**here's the eleventh chapter, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB nor any of its characters.

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

CHAPTER 11: **DOOR**

_TIME: 08:00 DAY: 07/28/20XX_

Kagami woke up and stared at the white ceiling. Aomine had apologized. The all-mighty, proud, "The only one who can beat me is me"-guy, was sorry about those hurtful words. And he couldn't be happier, because even if he'd hurt him, the redhead still liked him.

And he liked him very much, maybe even _too_ much. How had he missed that dark skin on his, the scowl on his face, that strong but unique scent of sweat his rival had all over him... Seeing him again was like a lightening bolt running across his body, he could _feel_ how much he'd missed him, all of him, and the distance between them did nothing but strengthen his affection for him: he was all over him, all over again. And Aomine had hugged him! Kagami rolled on a side, slightly blushing. The bluenette had embraced him in his strong arms, holding him tight while whispering he had missed him too...was that even possible? Could it be that it was just a dream? He suddenly heard a buzzing noise, meaning he had a new message.

And it was from _him_.

**-From: Ahomine-**

**-One-on-one?- **

He smiled at his phone. He'd also missed this feeling, their wild challenges, their excitement on the court, and it was finally happening again, just like the first time they met.

**-To: Ahomine-**

**-Sure. See ya at 9:00 at the small court near the cafeteria.-**

He was uncertain about something, though: Aomine had said he knew he liked him _that_ way, so what? What did he think of it? Did he mind? Did he not? But still, how could he act like it was nothing? Kagami didn't know what to think. It was good that the guy wasn't disgusted with him, but he was expecting some kind of reaction at least...

But they were going for a one-on-one, so it had to wait. And the redhead was _so_ going to beat his ass, the idiot deserved it!

Kagami got ready and left his room, he was hungry as hell though, so the redhead decided to stop at the cafeteria and grab something to eat before the match. He got in the queue and waited for his turn, in the meantime, he checked his phone and noticed an unread message.

**-From: Tatsuya-**

**-Taiga! How are you? How is it going there? Is it fun? What about Aomine? Call me soon :)**

**p.s. Atsushi says hi too, but he's too lazy to send you a text because he's always busy eating... -**

The message was delivered the previous day. He probably hadn't seen it due to the match, but Tatsuya was right: he hadn't called him once since he arrived, and he felt bad about it. Kagami sighed and looked around him, thinking, but he inevitably met someone's angry eyes. It was one of the twins from the previous day! The player was kinda stiff and was hardly walking at all, but he managed to come close to the redhead's shoulder.

"It's not over yet, ehehe." The guy grinned "This time there won't be your dear friend to help you."

Kagami glared at the teen and shoved him away, but the guy laughed and walked away.

"What the hell?!" The redhead looked at the figure disappearing in the distance.

"May I help you?" The cashier asked him.

"Oh yeah, I'll take three of those, thanks." He showed the man a bagel.

"Sure, that's 3$, thanks."

He gave him the money and walked out the cafeteria, eating the buns on his way to the court. The happiness of seeing Aomine was fading away, though, because Kagami was now worried about the evil twin's threat. What did he mean by that? They were probably up to no good, Aomine had beaten the crap out of him (or was it his brother?), it was obvious they wanted revenge.

He walked until he reached a green fence. Behind it, a familiar spark of navy blue moved around fluidly, but with a fast pace. And he realized it: they were finally playing together, again.

"Ahomine."

The bluenette turned around and smirked. "Bakagami, you're late again."

"I was eating breakfast." Kagami dropped his back on the bench and stretched his arms. "Ready to lose? 'Cause I'm going to beat your ass."

"You wish." Aomine ran to the center of the court, where he met the redhead. He dribbled a couple of times, then ran past him, wishing to go for a formless shot. But Kagami wasn't letting him do that, not this time: the guy had to pay, and the best thing to do so was beating him on the court. The redhead made a spin and touched the ball, making it fall from his rival's hands. Then he ran past Aomine, picking up the round object.

"I won't let you." Kagami smirked at his friend.

"We'll see."

Aomine ran his direction and faced him, but fell for a fake to the left, allowing the redhead to get closer to the hoop.

"Shit"

Kagami jumped and dunked the ball in, triumphantly. He smiled at the bluenette. "What did you just say?"

The tanned player took a step back and exhaled. "You know, it's been a while since I've gone full strength against someone, and I've missed our matches." He relaxed himself and closed his eyes, he could feel the _door_ slowly opening. _Oh_, that familiar yet mysterious door: he'd missed it so much.

"The same goes for me." Kagami smiled, but he didn't understand what the bluenette was referring to. In an instant, a blue spark passed him, stealing the ball and shooting it in. The redhead could only turn around to watch, surprised, his friend's actions. Did Aomine enter the Zone?! Now?! He didn't think the guy would go that far, but if things were like that, he couldn't just stand back and watch. He needed a trigger though, because his original one was the will to fight for his teammates, but now he was alone on the court. What could he do?

"Too weak, huh?" Touou's ace mocked him, spinning the ball on his finger. "Come on, Bakagami, don't tell me you've forgotten how it's done."

"Shut up." The redhead closed his eyes and focused, but right then he felt the air brushing against his skin.

"Sorry, I'm not giving you the time to find a new switch." Aomine ran around him and dunked the ball in. "The first to get 80 points wins. And I'm already at 3. Prepare to lose, Bakagami".

The redhead needed to focus more, he knew that. He took a deep breath and concentrated: he needed to find a trigger, something that would make him go full strength on the court, a will as powerful as that to fight for his friends. But what could it be? It was just the two of them on the court! He exhaled a breath and focused again. What did he want the most at that point? He thought about it. Aomine could enter the Zone as he pleased, so it didn't need to be something too complicated, right?

_I want to beat him, I have to beat him._

Aomine gave him the ball. "Come at me."

The redhead opened his eyes. He'd found it. Kagami dribbled and looked at his rival, his eyes were emitting a bright red spark. He waited a moment, and when he felt Aomine's breath was relaxed enough, he broke left and got past him, but the bluenette wasn't going easy on him. Touou's ace followed Kagami and stood in front of him, blocking his way. The redhead turned over and faked once again, but the tanned player didn't fall for it: he took the chance to steal the ball and ran to the hoop.

Kagami ran after him and jumped, blocking his shot and making the ball go out of bounds, and that interference annoyed Aomine quite a bit.

"Heh, It looks like you've found it" The bluenette passed his hand on his chin, sweeping the sweat away.

"I have." Kagami's wild eyes didn't break the pressuring eye-contact. He got the ball and met Aomine in the middle of the court, he _had_ to win. Even though they were training with different coaches, Kagami had almost caught up to the tanned player's level, and was now able to block his shots. The bluenette's moves had improved too, though, so the redhead still couldn't overpower him. One could say their levels were different, but in some way even, and that made the challenge last two hours without any of them reaching the goal: their score was even at 60-60.

The fact that they weren't allowing the other to score made both of them feel all the more excited about the one-one-one, and every failed shoot urged them to fight even more.

Kagami took the ball and faced Aomine, moving back and forth on the court, just like they did when they first entered the Zone in the Winter Cup. Their movements were smooth and quick, perfect, they weren't giving the other a chance to take control over the challenge. But Kagami had to win, he had to beat Aomine, no matter what.

The redhead dribbled twice, making the ball resonate on the concrete soil, then he bent his knees to gather enough energy and sprinted forward, leaving Aomine back by a mere instant. Still, that small gap of time was enough for him to score from way far from the hoop: he stopped at the chosen distance and jumped high and forward, dunking the ball with his meteor jam. With an excited grin, he landed on the concrete and looked at his rival, that was now smirking.

"You're getting good, Bakagami, but you'll never beat me."

"I'm still winning though." He smiled and passed him the ball. "Now _you_ come at me"

"Oh, Taiga!" A voice interrupted their fighting glances. Kagami turned around and saw a white-haired player looking at them, together with a blond one. They were standing next to the fence, making their way on the grey floor.

"Walter, Josh!" He looked at them. "What are you doing here?"

The blond teen smiled at him. "We wanted to play, but it looks like you've had the same idea, just before us"

"I see" Kagami looked at Aomine, and the guy was wearing a look that sent shivers down his spine: he was pissed.

The bluenette looked at the scene and scowled. Someone was interrupting his one-on-one, the one-on-one with the redhead he'd been wishing for all this time. And on top of that, it was none other than the guy Kagami had made out with at the party and his new _friend_. Aomine felt his stomach swirl: he didn't like that. And he didn't like how Kagami was talking to them, averting his wild gaze from him, _what the hell!?_

Touou's ace glared at the newcomers, and Josh noticed it, because he immediately looked away, not able to endure that much pressure all concentrated in a single gaze. Walter, though, didn't look bothered at all.

The redhead tried to save the situation. "Can you wait for us to finish our match? We're almost done, anyway." He truly hoped they would agree on that.

Josh didn't say anything, he didn't want to be killed by the bluenette. The white-haired player, instead, replied quite cheerfully.

"Why don't we all play together?" He smiled.

Kagami was now in the most awkward position. He didn't want to chase his friends out of the court, but he could tell Aomine was utterly pissed about having his match interrupted. There was no safe way out of it, he was done for. Both choices were equally bad.

"Err..." He looked at the bluenette. "I think you can..."

"Let's do this." Aomine walked over to the new player. "I'm Aomine."

"I'm Walter." The friendly player offered his hand, but Touou's ace didn't take it.

The redhead watched them with wide-open eyes, and he looked at his rival, asking for an explanation. Aomine just gave him an unreadable glance.

Even Josh knew something was wrong: Aomine's behavior was definitely unnatural, and he knew that even if he'd met the guy just a few days before. "Are you sure?"

The bluenette looked at him with a cold glare. "Yes, but I'm teaming up with him." He pointed at Kagami, who was getting even more surprised by the guy's actions. But what could Aomine do? The flow of the heated match had been stopped with their arrival, leaving him pissed and frustrated: it was his one-on-one with Kagami, for fuck's sake! It was like a national holiday to him! The only thing that could make him feel better was beating the guys so hard they wouldn't ask to join them _ever_ again. EVER, ever again. He hated those fuckers, especially Josh, and he had quite the reason for that.

Or did he?

Thinking about it, Josh was free to do anything he liked, and so was Kagami. Still, the redhead liked _him_, so he shouldn't have kissed the blond player. Even so, it wasn't like they were going out, so there should be no problem, he could kiss anyone he wanted.

Right?

Then why was he still so upset about it? He didn't know, but he hated the idea of the blond dude having his hands all over the redhead. That being said, Josh had told him they never did anything in his room, and the kiss was because Kagami was hella drunk, and he knew that. And that was the problem: he fucking knew that, and he also knew Kagami liked him, so he had no reason to be upset, no rational excuse.

It was an absurd situation, no matter what he didn't trust the blond player, he was still holding a grudge. And now that white-haired friend had joined the party. Was he getting paranoid?

"It's fine with me." The blond guy answered.

"Good." Aomine handed them the ball. "You start."

"Aren't you underestimating us?" Josh replied.

"I think we've cleared that last time already." The bluenette glared at him.

"Okay then, here we go."

But even with Josh's powerful steals and Walter's blocks and perfect shots, Aomine's rage wasn't stopped. Kagami could only watch as the bluenette got all the balls, making almost all the shots. The final result of 80-36 confirmed the guy's overwhelming strength.

Walter grinned. "Wow dude, you're amazing!" And he slapped his back.

Aomine felt a vein pop on his forehead, and glared at the guy. He didn't like him, at all. No way.

"But still, I like Taiga's style more. He's the best during practice!" The white-haired teen looked at the redhead, who felt flattered and looked away.

"Shut up."

"Oi, Taiga! Are you embarrassed!?" Josh laughed at him. He wasn't backing off, though: Walter came last in the queue to the redhead's heart. If he wanted attention from Kagami, he needed to wait for his turn. The blonde player wrapped his arm around the redhead's neck. "Let's have lunch together!"

Aomine was getting more and more pissed off, those guys were being _way_ too touchy-feely with _his_ redhead, and he fucking hated it.

Kagami felt something grabbing his wrist, and he immediately recognized the touch. "He's coming with _me_." Aomine stopped him.

The other players looked at him, then at the red-haired teen. But Kagami, surprised at first, was now enjoying the situation: the bluenette was somehow acting possessive over him and he didn't dislike it _one_ _bit_. And he knew that because it was a familiar feeling to him, the same feeling he had when Kise was around the bluenette.

"Did you have plans with Aomine, already?" Josh asked.

Kagami looked at the one holding his wrist and smirked. "Not really."

"Then let's go together!" Walter cheered.

Touou's ace glared at the redhead and then looked at the other two. "I said he's coming with me." He took his and Kagami's bags and dragged his rival outside, leaving the other players dumbfounded in the court.

"Oh well, I guess we're having lunch on our own..." Josh sighed. He wouldn't back off just yet, though.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing, Aomine?!" The bluenette had walked up to the F building, dragging Kagami along.

"What are _you_ doing, allowing them to interrupt our one-on-one!" He tugged his wrist and looked at him.

"They entered the court! What could I do?"

Aomine snorted. "It doesn't matter now. Let's go inside."

"Wait, where are you taking me?" The redhead eyed him.

"To _our_ apartment: we're having lunch." Aomine entered the building and got on the elevator. The tight space made everything even more awkward. Aomine didn't know what to say, he was acting like an asshole once again, but he couldn't stand those guys being around the redhead, even if he didn't know why.

Kagami kept looking at the bluenette: was that just possessiveness? A new kind of challenge? _Or could it be... _

The *bing* noticed them they had reached their floor.

Touou's ace opened the door and disappeared inside. "I'm taking a shower, you can start making food" _Wait_, why could he only phrase it like that?! _Shit_. He didn't want to mess it up again.

"What am I, your maid?" The redhead eyed him and snorted, he was mad at the guy's rude words, but his stomach ached from hunger. He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, finding some random ingredients, Aomine had probably bought some, too lazy to go to the cafeteria to eat every meal of the day. He picked some vegetables and some burgers, hoping to make something edible.

Aomine still couldn't figure it out. He'd been acting like an ass to everyone he'd met that day, including Kagami, who deserved it the least. All because he was pissed for an unknown reason, and because of another problem: he'd started to feel weird whenever Kagami was near him, especially when the redhead and him were close...And that hug had felt amazing... Was he reading too much into it? Probably, _definitely_. He got out the refreshing shower and put on dry clothes: underwear, a black and loose tank-top and soft, gray pants. Walking around the bedroom, he could already smell the delicious scent coming from the kitchen, but his ringtone stopped him from going there and eat everything the redhead had cooked.

"Oh please no...not now, jeez" He read the caller's identity and snorted.

-Yo.-

-AOMINECCHIIII!- He had to get the phone away from his ear, in order not to become deaf.

-Kise.-

-What the hell!? That message was _so_ bad! I ask you to contact me and _that's_ how you do it?-

-Well, I was...in a rush.- Aomine sighed. He was starving. -Listen, can I call you later? I'm hungry as hell, it's lunchtime here...-

-No way! Aominecchi, we both know you _won't_ call me.-

-That's not...uh..- It was a very likely scenario, in fact.

-By the way, how's it going? What about Kagamicchi?-

The bluenette remembered what happened the last time the two friends met: _apocalypse_. -He's cooking right now.-

"Ahomine! Food's ready! Get your ass over here!" The redhead's voice echoed from the kitchen to the bedroom.

The bluenette scowled and replied. "COMING!" He continued the call. -See?-

-Lucky you, eating Kagamicchi's food, but you still haven't answered my questions. Come on, I'm just worried about you.-

Kise was right, there was no need to be pissed at him too. -Yeah, well I'm fine... I think.- Except for those weird feelings he was doing quite well.

-Hmmm you don't sound so convincing... You know you can talk to me, Aominecchi.- The blonde's tone of voice became more relaxed and understanding. Kise looked always cheerful and happy, but he was quite experienced in human relationships, definitely more than the bluenette. Maybe he could ask him for advice? Just this once in his whole life though, since it was the only case he wasn't the best in something.

-I've been feeling strange recently, I don't know what's happening to me.-

-Aominecchi, are you sick? Oh no, I'm so sorry!-

-No, it's not that, it's a feeling I get when I'm...close to someone.- Would the player really understand? Maybe telling him wasn't the greatest idea after all.

-Go on.-

-My breath gets uneven, my stomach swirls inside, and when they're close to other people I feel upset and my insides ache, I don't get it.-

-Hmmmm... is this about Kagamicchi?-

_What?! How did he know?_ -Yes...-

-Then it's alright! You know, it's weird at first, but you get used to it pretty soon, you just have to acknowledge it. I feel that way too.- All of a sudden, he sounded cheerful all over again.

-What?! You too?- He widened his eyes.

-Yup, it's a natural reaction, I guess Kagamicchi feels the same as well.-

-Oi, Kise, don't beat around the bush and tell me what's wrong with me.- He was about to die of starvation, he'd given his best on the court to beat those motherfuckers' asses and was now out of energy.

-Well, Aominecchi, have you ever thought you might...let's say _care_ for Kagamicchi _that_ way?-

-Huh?-

_What? Just what?!_

"Oi, Aomine!"

The bluenette turned around to face an angry redhead holding a spatula.

"First you ask me to have lunch together and then you don't even eat? What the hell?!" Kagami glared at him and walked his way, but he noticed the device pressed next to his rival's ear.

"Can't you call them back?"

Aomine was frozen and didn't know how to behave. Kise's phone call was awakening thoughts he had been struggling to keep locked inside. _Feelings_. He already knew they were the reason behind the latest events, but he didn't want to realize it, since it meant giving his life a 180º turn.

_Too late, though. _The blonde's words were already echoing in his brain.

Kagami faced his rival and looked in his deep, blue eyes. The guy had been acting all possessive since that morning, and _now_ that they were together he was leaving him alone? What the fuck?!

"Who's that?"

Aomine looked into those wild, red eyes and felt his heart pound. _That_ was the feeling he was talking about.

-Aominecchi?-

"It's Kise."

Kagami's serious expression suddenly vanished into an impassible one.

"Oh..."

He turned around. "Your food's getting cold" Then he walked away.

-Aominecchi? Are you there?-

The bluenette followed his rival's shadow as it disappeared in the distance. -Sorry, gotta go.-

-Wait!-

-...-

Aomine hung up and joined Kagami in the kitchen. The panoramic window lightened up the room, showing them the contrast of the blue sky and the green grass. It was such a beautiful day. Touou's ace sat at the table and waited for the redhead's questions about the call, but they never came.

His rival kept munching on his five, wide burgers, not uttering a word. Was he mad at him? Well it _was_ his fault for taking so long. He was messing it up again. _Gosh, couldn't things go well, for once?_

"Kagami"

The redhead looked up.

"Err...sorry about that, I-"

"It's okay, really."

But the bluenette knew it wasn't okay. The atmosphere got heavier and heavier, he had to change topic.

But Kagami was faster.

"Why did you drag me here?"

Now, that was a good question. "I wanted to eat lunch together."

"Really." That was obviously a lie, and the redhead knew it.

"Really." Aomine stared at his food. It was finally time to eat, and eating would prevent him from thinking, at least for a short while. He bit the dark meat and felt relieved altogether.

"Gosh, Bakagami. Your food is truly the best." He passed the chunk on his tongue, fully tasting it.

Not expecting that, Kagami blushed and looked at his own share. "Thanks." But he wanted to confirm something: he couldn't be wrong about Aomine's behavior, and he knew that because he felt the same way towards his rival, he was just better at hiding it.

"So, what do you think of those guys? They're amazing, aren't they?" He faked disinterest, picking the small pieces of vegetables with his fork, but he was watching every of the guy's movements.

Aomine raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "I hope you're joking, they were fucking weak."

"I guess it was a bad moment: Walter's amazing during practice, his shoots never miss. Plus, he's a very _kind_ and _polite_ friend, and he's also very _funny_, you know? You'd make great friends." Kagami innocently smiled, looking at the bluenette, that was now clenching his fists around the cutlery. _Score!_

"If I were you, I wouldn't trust him."

"Why not?"

"You've known him since what? Four days?!"

"Hah? That's irrelevant. He's a great guy, he's the one who made me smile after our...business with the party." Kagami knew he'd touched a delicate topic.

Aomine already knew that: he'd seen them together! And the giant was still pissing him off, even if he wasn't there. He was getting annoyed. "Well, why didn't you eat lunch with _him_, instead?"

"I was going to, but _someone_ grabbed my wrist and dragged me here."

Touou's ace felt a vein pop on his forehead.

"He's such a nice guy, really. He always cheers for me when we practice, and he's well-mannered. Oh but Josh's great too, did you see his steals? Unbelievable." The redhead looked at his rival across the table, expecting an exaggerate reaction. But it seemed that Aomine didn't mind anymore. Maybe he'd just imagined it. But he'd said he'd missed him! And they hugged, _Aomine_ was the one to hug him! So there had been some kind of improvement...right? He sighed. _What to do... maybe it was a lost cause._

A ringtone broke the silence, but this time it wasn't Aomine's.

Kagami walked to the counter, where his phone was, and picked up. He wasn't showing it, but the bluenette was hardly keeping his cool now, his rival's words were increasing his level of rage to a _very_ dangerous limit. He followed the friend with his eyes as his expression lightened up in pure joy.

"Tatsuya!"

_Oh no. Hell no. Not the fucking emo-guy. That was it. _

Kagami's farse wasn't on anymore, he was truly happy to hear his brother's voice, but after a few seconds he saw his rival stand up and get closer to him.

-Taiga! How are you doing?-

-Well, right now I- A dark hand grabbed the phone and threw it away with a quick movement.

"Oi, what the hell?!" The redhead looked at his cellphone's corpse on the floor.

"Stop doing that." Aomine rested his hands on the counter, on both sides of the redhead's body, facing him. A not-too-friendly look on his face. His fingers were digging into the cast iron, almost scraping it.

Kagami forced himself not to look at the hot body presented before him, still scented of soap and shampoo. Seirin's ace looked in the blue eyes. He was expecting to find an angry, raging look, instead, his rival had a serious, determined expression.

"Aomine, what-"

"Stop talking about other guys like that, I don't like it." He deepened his gaze.

The redhead looked at him in surprise...was Aomine really...? Like, _really_ really..?

"Jeez." Touou's ace exhaled a breath and ran his hand through his blue locks. _What was he saying now?! _

"Aomine" Kagami looked at him again.

"And stop acting all friendly with Josh! He almost fucked you last saturday!"

"Aomine, are-"

"And why the hell are you always so happy when you talk to that emo-guy!? Fuck! Plus, -"

"AOMINE!" Kagami held the bluenette's face between his hands, forcing the guy to face him.

The bluenette looked at his rival, that (oddly enough) didn't seem bothered by his words, if anything, he looked refreshened.

"What?" He scowled.

"Aomine, are you, _perhaps_, ..."

The bluenette knew what came after that. And he feared it. It was a new, unknown feeling to him.

"...jealous?"

Well now, that was one _hell_ of a bold question. He was ready to be made fun of by the idiot.

But Aomine averted his gaze, and what came next was totally unexpected.

"So what if I am?" He couldn't believe his words.

_Fuck._

It was true though, that was the only sane reason behind his possessive behavior.

Kagami retracted his hands and widened his eyes. They stood like that for a full minute, with Aomine looking away and the redhead looking _at_ _him_, dumbfounded. None of them dared to talk.

"I-" Seirin's ace tried to phrase something, but he was too shocked to do so.

The bluenette knew he'd done it. He'd messed it up, in another way, but he still had. There was no going back now.

_Oh, fuck it!_

Aomine lifted one of his hands and placed it on the redhead's scalp, bringing him closer. Kagami didn't even have time to react, because one moment later he found himself pressed against his rival's body, their lips closing the gap between them. The bluenette wrapped his other arm around the friend's waist, keeping him in place, while his mouth worked on the kiss. Dark lips softly closed and sucked on lighter ones, that mimicked their movements. Kagami couldn't believe it. How many nights had he dreamt of this! Aomine's lips on his own, their bodies colliding in a gentle but still hot kiss. He wrapped his hands around the tanned guy's back, tracing the rippling muscles on the back, while inhaling that unique and intoxicating scent. When the bluenette's tongue traced his bottom lip, asking for permission, Kagami didn't hesitate a second, and their tongues finally met. The wet organs danced together, inside and outside their mouths, covering the other with their own fluids and stimulating the sensitive spots. The kiss was so good Kagami was feeling his legs go dumb, and he held on to the strong back for support. Then, finally out of breath, he parted his lips from his rival's.

"Aomine, what..?" He looked at the bluenette with a hazy, confused look.

"Kagami..." The bluenette pierced through his eyes with his gaze.

The redhead regained his balance and looked into the blue orbs. _Too late to go back now_. With a determined look, he encircled the dark neck with his arms and closed the gap between them once again, but this time it was different, it was _their_ kiss, and the shock from before was long gone. Kagami sucked on the bluenette's tongue, and hearing the guy's pleased groans, he dominated the kiss, pressing down on the hot lips and exploring that long-desired, wet cavern. Aomine wasn't letting him take control over it though, _no way_. In an instant, he grabbed the redhead's chin, bringing him closer and deepening the kiss. He let his tongue roam on Kagami's, savoring every inch of the guy's mouth, eliciting soft moans from the redhead. But none of them wanted to give in. They parted for a second and exchanged a challenging look, red meeting blue, then their tongues were entangled again, making the kiss passionate and wild.

It felt like their one-on-ones. It felt like _them_.

Seirin's ace let his hands roam on the hot flesh of Aomine's neck, tracing each fiber and vein he found there, while the bluenette kept holding him by his red locks on his nape and his waist. It felt both like an instant and eternity, but they parted again, panting heavily.

Aomine looked down. The kiss felt incredible, he'd been unconsciously waiting for those soft lips to touch his own again, since Kaito's party.

"So...uhm..." Kagami averted his gaze. The atmosphere had turned _so_ awkward. _Wait, did they just kiss?!_

"Err...the food was great. Thanks."

"No need to thank me..." _Oh gosh._

An equally awkward silence fell on them.

Aomine sighed. "You won't see them anymore, right? Those bastards..."

"Well, we practice together, and we're friends, I don't think I can _not_ see them anymore." Kagami shrugged. _The bluenette had kissed him. For real._

Aomine rolled his eyes and came up with something.

"You know...there's a party tonight, there's one every Saturday, after all. Wanna go togeth-"

"NO. WAY." The redhead glared at him.

"Just kidding, Bakagami." The bluenette smiled.

Seirin's ace still couldn't believe it. "One-on-one?"

"What!? We've just played!"

"We haven't finished the match though." Kagami smirked. "This time you're going _down_."

"Yeah, as if."

"And you even broke my phone, now I have to go out and buy a new one, geez..."

Aomine smiled and sighed again.

The redhead looked at him.

"What?" The tanned player felt his rival's gaze on him. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No..." Kagami walked away and grabbed his things. He felt so gross, since he still hadn't showered, but it didn't matter. He was still in a daze. "Let's go."

"Yeah."

They walked out the door.

* * *

**Sooooooo...**

**What did you think of it? Let me know with a review!**

**MORE TO COME: Wait...did they kiss?! :O What are they going to do now? And what are the evil twins up to? Hmmm...**

**Thanks for reading this story! (I remind you the rating will soon change to M)**

**cya!**

**( ･ω･)ﾉ -BB33-**


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